Ultrasonography Helps Form Maternal Consciousness in Early Pregnancy：Based on Interviews Conducted in Pregnant Women in The Tohoku Region of Japan

This study had object to investigate how ultrasonography helps form and develop maternal consciousness in early pregnancy. In Japan, ultrasonography is commonly used to monitor fetal development in health examination for pregnant women. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in women in early pregnancy residing in prefecture –Z in the Tohoku region of Japan who gave their consent to participate in this study. In the interview, we collected information regarding their experience of ultrasonography. The collected data were analyzed inductively using the continuous comparison method to characterize maternal consciousness in early pregnancy and elucidate how maternal consciousness develops. A total of 200（average：12 ± 4）responses, including how they felt or what they thought about fetal sonograms and about being a mother, were obtained from 17 women in early pregnancy（gestation period：5 to 16 weeks）. Both context and literality were reviewed and analyzed. The results indicated that seeing the fetal sonograms and obtaining information from medical professionals help women in early pregnancy attain maternal consciousness and increase the sense of having an internal locus of control, while they imagine the assumed course of pregnancy before the actual progress of gestation and share the pregnancy experience with their family, supporters, etc. Ultrasonography was an important trigger for the formation and development of maternal consciousness in women in early pregnancy. This result suggested that the use of ultrasonography in health examination for pregnant women is helpful in monitoring health during pregnancy and in providing psychosocial support for women in early pregnancy to build a sense of maternal consciousness