Written by Guest Blogger, Joy Heath
Joy has been generous enough to share two birth stories in Japan. They really are a beautiful and detailed read. I just know these two stories are going to help so many expecting parents when making preparations for baby and help them line up their questions for their chosen doctor/clinic.
Joy has lived in Japan for almost 8 years. She moved here with her husband so he could be an Assistant Language Teacher.
She has lived in Maizuru city, which is in the northern part of Kyoto prefecture and now lives in Iida city (which is southern Nagano prefecture.)
Her 2 boys are now 5and 1. She enjoys travelling, cooking new dishes and taking pictures.
THE BIRTH OF MY FIRST CHILD
Planning to have a baby in Japan
When we decided to have a baby here, I tried to look up things online but, back then, (this was in a small town called Maizuru in 2013-2014) detailed information was very scarce.
We found some information about Tokyo (but we didn’t live in Tokyo, we lived in a our very small city).
What I did know was that Japan was great in infant mortality rate so that confirmed that I wanted to have a baby here.
When I did get pregnant, I had a friend who could translate and take me to the hospital.
From what I had read, you should register for the hospital a little early incase the hospital filled up.
My friend took me to a hospital that she had heard was good and after I went there and learned it was a baby-friendly hospital*. I knew it was the one for me.
*More on breastfeeding in that hospital: Once I did end up having baby, the nurses were all super helpful and we had a nursery where I could breasted and they would be there to help in any way and do weighted feeds to make sure that they were getting enough.
The pregnancy appointments
The appointments were all pretty much the same: pee in cup, weight, blood pressure, ask some questions on how you are feeling, ultrasound, and a cervix check.
A couple of appointments I had blood work done and I did have a glucose test.
At the end of my pregnancy, I did have a couple of NST done to check how the baby was doing and to see if I had any contractions.
It was a very uncomplicated task going to the doctor besides them wanting me to have a translator with me every time. Luckily, my friend was able to come to almost all of them with me.
At 16 weeks I was able to find out he was a boy (sometimes it takes them longer to find out here because they want to be completely sure.)
Contractions and labor
On Saturday, 1 day after my due date, I was starting to feel contractions.
They were pretty irregular so I wasn’t positive that’s what they were.
By Saturday evening they were coming more regular.
When they got to 5 to 7 minutes apart I decided to go to the hospital since they said to come in when contractions were 5 to 10 minutes apart. I went in around 10 PM.
I got checked out and had not progressed at all so they checked my contractions and his heartbeat with the NST. The doctor gave me the option to go home so I could rest better. She said it could be days.
We went home and I could not rest. Contractions were still coming in so I just sat on the couch and dozed off between them.
By 7 AM I decided to start timing them again. I woke up my husband up so that he could spend some time with me. All morning I timed them and they were coming five minutes apart. They later started to come in at three minutes and would last for over one minute.
By lunchtime, I called my friend and she called the hospital.
They said to eat lunch and then come in.
I came in and when they checked me I was already 8 cm. They checked me in and got me ready for my stay. They checked his heartbeat and my contractions for about 20 minutes.
Since that looked good, they let me walk around for a while until it was getting close to time to push. I don’t know the exact time but I would say I pushed for maybe four hours (that is unusually long so don’t fret).
The nurse was really helpful coaching me through it and at the end I had three nurses and my doctor and they were all great and encouraging. Also, at the end, they called my friend, who had been translating, for her to come to make sure I knew what was going on.
My husband was amazing and was an awesome coach. He translated what the nurses said and basically let me rip his arm off. He also fanned me the entire time which was about seven hours!
Meeting baby & the first night
At 7:32 PM our son was born and they laid him on me.
My husband cut the umbilical cord. They then took him and got his measurements and wrapped him up.
They let my husband hold him for awhile while they finished with me. After that they rolled me into a recovery room and he and I did skin to skin time. After one hour, they checked my son again and gave him back to me to feed. I was in recovery for one more hour and they took me to our room.
My husband did not get to stay with me.
Husbands staying in the room is not common here and I was also in a shared room.
The hospital stay
At this hospital, I was required to stay for 6 days.
My husband could come whenever he wanted but had to leave by 8.
All the days were pretty much the same. They took him in the morning for bath and checkup, the nurses helped me learn how to breastfeed, I also had some checkups and they had me resting as much as possible.
Six days in the hospital was a very longtime but I am very grateful for everything the nurses and doctors did for us.
I am not an huge Japanese food fan so that was the hardest part.
The nurse called him a onigiri ( a Japanese rice ball) when wrapped like this.
THE BIRTH OF MY SECOND CHILD
Preparing to have a baby in a new city
With my second child, we lived in a new city called Iida City in Nagano Prefecture – so that meant a new hospital.
We still are in a very small city. I had the Japan Health Info (JHI) website to help me find a doctor and a hospital or clinic.
Where we lived at that time, only one hospital delivered babies but there were clinics you could go to.
If you chose that hospital you were required to go to a clinic until 32 weeks except for week 12 where you went to the hospital so you could check in for your birth.
I did not have a translator this time but, since I knew what was going on by then so I was fine without one.
The hospital had a nurse that spoke Japanese so they had her come to my 12 week and 14 week appointment but she was transferred before I came back so I no longer had language assistance.
My pregnancy appointments & some complications along the way
My appointments were pretty much the same as last time I was pregnant.
At my 12 week appointment, I had some bleeding so my doctor put me on bed rest for a couple of weeks and had me come back in after 2 weeks instead of a month.
I was cleared after that so no more complications.
The clinic I went to was very nice and I had thought about giving birth there instead. Fortunately though, I decided to give birth at the hospital because, at 34 weeks, I went in because I was in severe pain and ended up having surgery to remove a cyst and had to stay in the hospital for a week.
Going into labor and that time leading up to baby’s arrival
At 37 weeks and 5 days I had just laid down to continue to watch a show and it felt like I peed myself.
I jumped up and waddled to the bathroom. I wasn’t sure if I was leaking or peeing.
Since it kept coming, I finally decided I was leaking. I honestly had no idea what to do. I wasn’t having contractions but, since I tested positive for GBS, I was sure they wanted me to come in.
We contacted some friends and they actually called the hospital and asked for us. They wanted me to come in.
I packed my hospital bag during this time because I hadn’t done that yet and got some stuff packed for my son incase he needed to stay somewhere.
Our friend came and picked us up and we all went to the hospital.
When we got there, they brought me to a laboring room to check me out.
I wasn’t having contractions and I wasn’t really dilated. The nurse hooked me up to antibiotics for the GBS.
They told my husband he should go home because it was going to be at least until morning.
I tried to get as much sleep as possible because I didn’t know when I was going to go into labor since I did have some contractions.
The next morning, they moved me into a different room since I still wasn’t in labor.
My husband came to see me in the morning.
Since I still wasn’t in labor my husband went home to our son. Later that day, they both came by to see me. They stayed at our friends house that night incase I went into labor.
Then, it was time… or was it? Was it time to induce labor?
In the middle of the night I was having contractions. When the contractions got close together, I called the nurse and she moved me into a labor room.
When I got to that room they stopped.
The next morning, I was miserable and was tired of this so I asked a nurse about inducing me.
She said was I going to talk to the doctor after 9am. At around 9:30am my husband and son came too see me and I went to talk to the doctor. He checked and I was dialated around 4cms and he told me they would give me a pill every hour for 6 hours to induce me.
After that the doctor came out and talked to my husband and me together and he signed something (I later found out that it was an insurance form talking about my water breaking early and having to induce me) since it’s his name on the insurance.
The pills started at 11am.
After that my husband and son went home for awhile because my son wasn’t allowed in the maternity ward.
I had to stay attached to the NST machine to make sure the baby was doing good.
The contractions finally started to come.
I tried to read between contractions and keep my husband informed via text messages.
The nurse would come and check on me every once and awhile and also kept giving me the antibiotics.
I would occasionally get up and go to the bathroom to walk around some.
As the hours progressed, so did my contractions.
My husband let me know that our friends could watch our son starting at 7pm so I hoped that I could hold out until then.
They brought me dinner at 6:30 but I was in too much pain to eat.
It was definitely time
At right about 7pm, my contractions were extremely close and almost unbearable.
I messaged my husband to let him know and called in the nurse. She checked me and I guess I was close because she took me to the delivery room and called in the midwife, other nurses, and my doctor.
They asked me where my husband was and I told them he was coming.
One of the nurses kept going out into the hallway to look for him.
He got there at 7:10pm. They told me I was at a 9 cms and I was not thrilled that I wasn’t at a 10 yet. My husband fanned me and just talked to me.
Very shortly after he arrived I needed to push and I kept telling my husband I just wanted to be done.
It was a lot more intense with this baby then with my oldest.
Everyone in the room helped me out and at 7:29pm Noah was born!
From when my water broke until I had him was 47 hours.
From when I took the pills to when I had him was 8 1/2 hours. It was such a relief to be done and to finally have him.
They laid him on me and I cut the umbilical cord this time.
What happened right after baby was born
They then took him to get weighed and measured and my husband took pictures.
They gave him to me and we cuddled for a little bit and then my husband and older son held him.
I had to stay in the room for 2 hours. They brought me in the dinner I never ate.
At 10/10:30 they got me up and wheeled me to where I was going to be staying.
I had to say bye to my husband then and he headed to our friends to stay with our oldest.
When I got to my room I finally nursed him and he was a champ at it.
The next early afternoon my husband and oldest son came to see me and my son finally got to meet his brother. He was in love from first sight and cried when his brother left but not me.
The night before, the doctor told me I could leave on day 4 instead of day 5 because I had another kid at home.
My time in hospital with baby
The next few days consisted of laying around, baby and I getting checked, and getting visits from husband and oldest.
My hospital stay was nice but I was definitely ready to go home because of how I had already been there for a week with my surgery and a couple extra days because of my water breaking early.
A few notes after giving birth here – twice
-Don’t settle on a hospital/clinic, make sure you are happy and you will hopefully have a good experience.
-Japanese medical staff are obsessed with weight but just let it roll off your back.
-Pick some things you are very passionate about and see if your hospital will go along with it. Mine was breastfeeding and having my husband in delivery room.
– Epidural is uncommon in Japan. If I hadn’t asked for an epidural, I would not have gotten one. If you want one you will when to check to see if your hospital will do it.
– I had shared rooms both times at both hospitals
– I am, overall, super happy with my experiences giving birth in Japan.
