Pregnant In Japan: Choosing A Hospital

With the discovery that I was pregnant, I knew I was about to begin one helluva ride. Being in a foreign country with a foreign language meant this was about to be a crash course in Japanese and the art of going with the flow.

It started out easily enough; buying a pregnancy test. That was pretty straight forward and not unlike buying a test back in Canada. All I had to do was go to the pharmacy (kusuriya in Japanese) and pick one off the shelf. There were a few brands to choose from, and I picked up a little variety pack of all the different kinds. One helpful thing is that while the tests were Japanese, they all came with a set of English instructions. And like the tests back in Canada they were as straightforward as ‘one line means not pregnant, two lines means pregnant’.

The next step was choosing a hospital to begin going to check ups and eventually give birth in. Yasu and I decided a hospital close by would be best since the checkups are very frequent here. Some hospitals or clinics will also handle all the checkups but not the actual labour and delivery, but I didn’t want to deal with that. I narrowed it down to two options; a smaller birth clinic about a 15 minute walk away and a hospital that is a 5 minute walk from me. There were major pros and cons to both - the biggest ones were that the birth clinic offers epidurals while the hospital does not. The pro of the hospital is that it is more equipped for any emergencies. If I need an emergency C-section or if the baby needs extra medical care, they won't have to transfer me anywhere unlike the birth clinic.

Ultimately - I chose the hospital. The 5 minute walk was appealing, and since I’m 38 with potential for a higher risk pregnancy, I feel more secure at a hospital that can best support that. I also figured I could start checkups there and change my mind a little later if I was really set on a medicated and pain free birth.

photo: Nippn Life Hospital

Which brings me to that issue…. Medicated and pain free births are NOT common in Japan. While over 50% of people giving birth in Canada opt for an epidural, in Japan it’s only 5%. I quickly learned that most hospitals do not offer epidurals or other medicated interventions and those that do are very expensive. There’s also the issue of needing to go into labour on a Monday-Friday 9am-5pm schedule - otherwise there’s a good chance there won’t be an anesthesiologist on hand to administer an epidural, even if you booked one. The idea of mentally preparing for an epidural and not being able to get it last minute seems way worse to me than mentally preparing for not having one at all.

I recalled my mother’s experiences with birthing both me (no medication) and my brother, (with epidural). She told me that she actually preferred my birth because with my brother she couldn’t feel anything and lost her natural urge to push when the time came, which could have endangered my brother's life. That story put fear in me and ultimately I want to do what is going to be safest for my baby. I keep telling myself that billions of people before me have given birth without medication. Also, Japan has one of the lowest rates of infant and parent mortalities in the world during childbirth which is reassuring. That also said - as someone who’s never given birth before I really have no idea what I’m in for and this could very well be the dumbest idea I’ve ever had. My doctor keeps telling me, "ganbatte!" (Do your best).

photo: Nippon Life Hospital (The LDR w/ its virtual window)

I also learned that after giving birth in Japan, the mother stays at the hospital for 5 or 6 days to recover and learn how to do things like feed, bathe and generally take care of the baby. The hospitals also firmly believe that this is an important time for rest and mother is pampered with things like incredible meals and massage treatments. Not gonna lie, that does sound pretty fantastic. It's important to me that I have a private room for the 5 day “holiday” and I decided that was a non-negotiable, even if it cost more. Thankfully, the hospital I chose only offers private rooms.

photo: Nippon Life Hospital

photo: www.soranews24.com / An example of hospital food given to new moms

Speaking of cost… while Japan has an excellent health insurance system similar to Canada’s universal health care, it does not extend to pregnancy and childbirth. Japan does not see pregnancy as an illness so it isn’t covered, plain and simple. However, Japan also has a major issue of being a country with one of the lowest birth rates in the world. The costs of having a baby are quite high, so the government makes it easier for couples to start a family by majorly subsidizing it. Each prefecture offers vouchers that cover most of the cost of appointments and childbirth so that ultimately everything without added bells and whistles (like an epidural) should “only” cost roughly two or three thousand dollars (or less!). The vouchers also include free dental treatments, prenatal classes, offers of midwife housecalls after the birth and even house cleaning services. Once the pregnancy is confirmed with the doctor, we would have to go to City Hall to register it and in return I would get a swag bag of goodies including the essential maternity handbook/record book and all the vouchers I’d need to offset the costs of my appointments.

So there I was, 5 weeks pregnant with a lot of information to digest already. The hospital was called and an appointment was made for the following week to begin my check ups and confirm the pregnancy.  I felt excited and nervous about the prospect of “meeting” my baby via ultrasound and hearing the heartbeat. I still wasn’t completely sure what to expect at this point but the journey was on its way!

Next - I’ll post about my first trimester check ups as well as the Japanese things I haven’t been able to live without while pregnant so far. Stay tuned!