Having a Baby in Japan
Having a baby in a culture other than your own can be intimidating to say the least. Relax, you're in a country that boasts one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world.
Birth in Japan is not treated as a medical condition, and midwives hold as much status as doctors do to bring new babies into the world. If you choose to have your baby at a midwife clinic (josanin) or be attended by a midwife at your home (katei bunben) then your midwife will work with a doctor and a hospital which will be your back-up plan should things go awry. No risks are taken, and all contigencies usually planned for.
The first thing you'll need when you're going to give birth is a really great informational resource. The book I used was "Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth" by Sheila Kitzenger (1997) which is also available in Japanese as "シーラおばさんの妊娠と出産の本". We bought the book in both languages so that my Japanese husband and I would be on the same page (ha ha) whenever we found out something new at the doctor. It was an invaluable resource for both of us.
The next thing you'll need is a really great support system.
There is no-one who can look after a new mother, like other new mothers. Nagoya Foreign Mothers Group is a wealth of information and friendship that is like pure spun gold for mothers-to-be who are far away from home when they give birth. Meetings are on Saturdays in Higashi Betsuin. One of the founders is an English speaking midwife, Misako Iwamoto, who is an angel to the foreign mother community. Misako-san has her own clinic in Tempaku-ku and has also attended births at other midwife clinics (the one where I gave birth, for example!), hospitals, and people's homes.
Tempaku Josan-in (Tempaku Midwife Clinic)
Address: 2218 Ebiyama-cho, Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, 468-0042
Phone: 052-847-0243
Please call ahead to make an appointment (usually appointments are in the morning)
Whether you choose to have your baby in a big hospital, small one-doctor hospital, midwife clinic or at home, if you do your homework and find someone you're really comfortable with, you're sure to have a great birthing experience here in Japan.
Best of luck!
Birth in Japan is not treated as a medical condition, and midwives hold as much status as doctors do to bring new babies into the world. If you choose to have your baby at a midwife clinic (josanin) or be attended by a midwife at your home (katei bunben) then your midwife will work with a doctor and a hospital which will be your back-up plan should things go awry. No risks are taken, and all contigencies usually planned for.
The first thing you'll need when you're going to give birth is a really great informational resource. The book I used was "Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth" by Sheila Kitzenger (1997) which is also available in Japanese as "シーラおばさんの妊娠と出産の本". We bought the book in both languages so that my Japanese husband and I would be on the same page (ha ha) whenever we found out something new at the doctor. It was an invaluable resource for both of us.
The next thing you'll need is a really great support system.
There is no-one who can look after a new mother, like other new mothers. Nagoya Foreign Mothers Group is a wealth of information and friendship that is like pure spun gold for mothers-to-be who are far away from home when they give birth. Meetings are on Saturdays in Higashi Betsuin. One of the founders is an English speaking midwife, Misako Iwamoto, who is an angel to the foreign mother community. Misako-san has her own clinic in Tempaku-ku and has also attended births at other midwife clinics (the one where I gave birth, for example!), hospitals, and people's homes.
Tempaku Josan-in (Tempaku Midwife Clinic)
Address: 2218 Ebiyama-cho, Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, 468-0042
Phone: 052-847-0243
Please call ahead to make an appointment (usually appointments are in the morning)
Whether you choose to have your baby in a big hospital, small one-doctor hospital, midwife clinic or at home, if you do your homework and find someone you're really comfortable with, you're sure to have a great birthing experience here in Japan.
Best of luck!
