Abstract

Considering the increase in game usage among young people, many women may use games before pregnancy. However, it has not been shown whether game usage time changes in women after they become pregnant. This study was carried out to compare game usage time and game usage-related factors in Japanese women before pregnancy and during early pregnancy. We recruited pregnant women during the first trimester. We conducted a web questionnaire survey in 351 pregnant women. The time spent playing games was significantly shorter during the early gestation period than before pregnancy, and 35.7% of the women who played games before pregnancy did not play games in the early gestation period. We divided women who played games before pregnancy into two groups: one group of women who played games both before and in the early gestation period (n=133) and one group of women who played games before pregnancy but did not play games in the early gestation period (n=74). The proportion of women who smoked before pregnancy and the proportion of women who thought they might have game addiction were significantly higher in women who played games both before and in the early gestation period. The proportion of partners who played games was also significantly higher for women who play games both before and in the early gestation period.  We found that many women stopped playing games or reduced their game usage time after becoming pregnant. Careful observation may be required for women who continue to play games during pregnancy.

Key words: Pregnant women, game usage, before pregnancy, early pregnancy.