On February 14, the Aomori City Futago Mitsugo no Kai released the results of a survey and a report on those who have experienced multiple childcare.

The association was established in 2021 by a person who has experienced multiple childcare. The representative, Mihoko Sato, recalls that it was a time when facilities with civic centers and playrooms were closed due to the corona pandemic, and it was difficult to go out. After going through the circle activities that were the predecessor, I started it as a volunteer."

Ms. Sato is currently the mother of six-year-old twin boys. Having given birth in my 40s, I became keenly aware of the difficulty of raising multiple children despite the cooperation of my husband and parents. While researching the activities of groups for raising children with multiple births in other prefectures, he decided to conduct a questionnaire with the members to "understand and disseminate the current situation in Aomori."

The survey was conducted from April to May of last year to grasp the current situation of life with childcare targeting parents who are raising multiple children or have experience. 29 people (2 males and 27 females), including the members of the association, who were collected through connections, cooperated in answering.

Ms. Sato says that there are only constant issues with multiple births. A questionnaire was aggregated, and the current situation such as "mother's loneliness", "lack of manpower", "no one who understands", "difficult to go out", "difficult to secure sleep time for mothers", etc. There were also issues such as "I don't have anyone around me to rely on." A woman in her 40s who responded to the questionnaire said, "I wanted this kind of information when I gave birth. I think I was able to do my best just by knowing that I had a friend who felt the same way."

Mr. Sato said, "We gathered real voices. We submitted the results of the questionnaire to the Aomori City Public Health Center and the Aomori Parents and Children Hagukumi Plaza. Fortunately, in the year that the association was established, Aomori City called 'Support for Multiple Pregnant Women, etc.' With the start of the project, we are now able to establish a system of cooperation with the government. We hope that it will lead to a move to reduce the burden of multiple births."

For parents raising multiple children, Sato said, "I don't want you to work too hard on your own. Raising children is hard even for one child. I want you to rely on those around you instead of holding it in. There will always be people who will help you." ', he says. “I would be happy if many people could learn about the current situation of multiple births and help mothers who will give birth in the future. I want you to watch over me."

The results of the questionnaire and the report are open to the public on the association's link tree.