Pregnancy in Japan Part One: Resources

As mentioned in my previous post, I'd like to write a little bit about pregnancy and childbirth in Japan. I don't think I'll get around to posting as much as I'd like though, so I thought I'd start off with a list of the information and resources that are already available. You know, let others do my work for me. I hope it's useful for expecting parents in Japan (and for anyone who just has a general interest in pregnancy and childbirth in Japan, if you skip the  first few sections and scroll down to the Articles and Blogs sections you might find some interesting reading).

The following list may not be complete, so if there is anything I've missed please let me know and I'll add it. You'll notice that I haven't included a list of hospitals and birth clinics, and that's because I'm saving that for a separate post. This list is admittedly biased, with much of the information focused on mothers, geared towards English speakers, and specific to Tokyo, so again, if you know of any resources that would be good for dads, non English speakers, and those living other parts of Japan, then I'd love to hear from you.

Childbirth and breastfeeding education:

Childbirth Education Centre (CEC) offers childbirth, choosing a caregiver, and parenting classes by Brett Iimura, a Tokyo-based ICEA certified instructor. Hideaki and I will be taking her childbirth class next month.

Blue Sky, founded by lactation consultant Iona McNab, offered breastfeeding workshops, child and baby first aid training, and other services for new and expectant parents. Sadly McNab has relocated to Australia but the website remains as a useful resource and she continues to offer consultations via Skype.

Wisdom Childbirth's Allison Evans teaches Hypnobirthing, a childbirth technique that uses hypnosis to reduce pain and promote relaxation. Hypnobirthing is quite popular in Japan but as far as I know Evans is the only person teaching it in English.

Birth Education Services in Tokyo (BEST) offers pregnancy and birth preparation classes. Taught by registered nurse Ann Tanaka, the classes are held at the Tokyo American Club but are open to non-members.

Publications:

From Pregnancy to Childcare: How to Prepare for Childcare in Japan is available as a booklet and video in English, Japanese and several other languages.

Japan Health Handbook is a very useful resource for foreign residents of Japan, and has a good section on pregnancy and childbirth.

Being a Broad in Japan is now a bit outdated, but still has lots of good information. Perhaps one reason the book hasn't been revised is that Being a Broad now publishes a magazine, which frequently features articles about pregnancy and childbirth.

Japan for Kids, another book due for an update, has a section on pregnancy and birth.

Tokyo Families Magazine is a free magazine with occasional pregnancy/birth related content.

Weekender is Tokyo's oldest free magazine and frequently has useful information for parents and parents-to-be.

Online Groups and Resources:

Married In Japan (MIJ) is a members-only Yahoo Group for foreign women married to Japanese men (it's also open to women considering marriage to, living with, or divorced from a Japanese man). The discussions are not restricted to pregnancy and childbirth but the topics do come up often. I have received a lot of support and advice from this group over the years and highly recommend MIJ to any non-Japanese woman with a Japanese husband, expecting or not.

Foreign Wives Club, another members-only group, is open to women all over the world who are in bicultural marriages. It has an active message board with many Japan-based members, with pregnancy and child-rearing being a common topic.

Being a Broad has a message board open to all but of interest mainly to foreign women in Japan.

Japan With Kids is unfortunately no longer active but still contains a plethora of information, including lots about pregnancy and birth in the form of articles, links, and an extensive message board.

Child Research Net has information on raising and educating children, mostly translated from its Japanese website. Not much related to pregnancy and childbirth, but the site may come in handy once the baby arrives.

AMDA International Medical Information Centre has a number of useful resources, including printable multilingual medical questionnaires to bring to a clinic or hospital, especially useful for those who can't read and write Japanese and thus are unable to complete their clinic's own questionnaire. AMDA also publishes the "From Pregnancy to Childcare: How to Prepare for Childcare in Japan" booklets and videos mentioned above.

Real Life Groups and Resources:

Association of Foreign Wives of Japanese (AFWJ) has been bringing foreign wives of Japanese men together since 1969. Unlike MIJ, AFWJ requires a paid membership. Members can find others in their area, attend real life meetings and get-togethers, and read the journal published six times per year. Regional chapters also publish newsletters and there are various online groups as well. Paying dues may only be worth it if you actually want to attend gatherings and meet other women, but I am a member and do recommend it.

Tokyo Pregnancy Group brings expecting mothers together for twice-monthly meetings, each of which feature a speaker on a pregnancy, birth or baby related subject. There is also a mailing list which mostly consists of former members giving away or selling their used pregnancy and baby items- very useful for budget-conscious moms-to-be. Many members graduate on to the Tokyo Mothers Group.

La Leche League Japan is an international organization offering support and information to help mothers breastfeed. There are five English-language regional groups in Japan (and many more in Japanese) that meet up regularly and you don't have to already be a breastfeeding mother to join a group or attend meetings: expecting mothers can learn a lot, talk to other moms, and meet lactation consultants who may eventually be called upon to help once the baby arrives (many Japanese hospitals and birth clinics are not nearly as pro-breastfeeding as they claim to be). I've already attended one meeting and have learned a lot, and really feel relieved to know who I can turn to if I need help in the future.

Tokyo English Life Line offers a range of information and services, including a free and confidential telephone counseling service.

Here are a few other groups that are not specifically for expecting or new parents but may be useful, especially if you don't qualify for any of the groups above: Tokyo American Club Women's Group, United for a Multicultural Japan, Field of Mugi, and FEW Japan.

Newspaper and Magazine Articles:

Tokyo International Communication Committee's Pregnancy and Childbirth article outlines the paperwork (and there's a lot of it) involved with having a baby in Japan. 

Care The World has basic information on childbirth in Japan as well as instructions on buying its PDF book "All you need to know about birth in Japan".

Alien Times published the very useful article Pregnancy and Giving Birth in Japan. The focus is on the paperwork and much of the information is specific to Tsukuba residents, but it's worth a read no matter where you live.

Metropolis magazine has published a few useful articles: Local Experts Help Foreign Women Take the Pain out of Labor, Giving Birth in Japan and Birthing's Not For Babies. The latter article was of interest to me as the author had her baby at Mejiro Birth House, the birthing clinic I have chosen (and I agree completely with her assessment of the midwives there, both good and bad).

And speaking of my clinic, its founding midwife is quoted in the Japan Times article Midwifery Practice Seen Finding New Favor. Her comments, especially about eposiotomies, are what originally led me to check out the clinic.

Also from The Japan Times is Don't be Afraid to Ask Questions About Giving Birth in Japan, and Groping Pregnant Women Shouldn't be what it's About.

Weekender has a number of articles, including Birthing in Japan, Choosing a Caregiver Part One and Two, and Support for Breastfeeding.

 

Blog and Website Articles:

Babycafe Japan, although not recently updated, has lots of information on pregnancy and child-rearing.

Stippy.com's Getting Pregnant in Japan series is written from the point of view of a foreign man married to a Japanese woman. I get the feeling that he had lots more to say but his four-post series is quite useful and interesting: Part One: Becoming a Gaijin Daddy in Your Home Away from Home, Part Two: Which Baby Books to Buy, and in Which Language?, Part Three: Handy Internet Bookmarks, Part Four: Do Japanese Mums Need Less Calcium?. He has also started a series on the blog about being a foreign dad in Japan.

Spinshell TV has two really useful videos: Expecting in Tokyo Part One and Two.

Japan Window writes a personal account of Giving Birth, Having a Baby in Japan.

Frugal Japan's article Pregnancy & Childbirth has lots of tips for saving money

10 Tips for Dealing With Pregnancy in Rural Japan is actually relevant no matter where you live.

Yen for Living's Why Doesn't National Health Insurance Pay for Maternity Care? discusses the high cost of giving birth in Japan.

Japan Visitor has an article on Giving Birth in Japan as well as The ABC's of Childbirth in Japan, an alphabetized list of Japanese birthing vocabulary.

 

There is likely much more information available out there, so please let me know if I've missed something.

Comments

[Kaeru]

These are great resources! Though unfortunate that most are for foreigner women married to Japanese men! How about is foreign men married to Japanese women? Calling all similarly situated . . .

[Loz]

This is great! I've been reading for a couple of years since coming to Tokyo, and I'm now pregnant too - due with my first baby in October. This is a great overview of resources, some here I didn't know of. I'd love to know how you get on with the CEC classes as I'm planning to take them in August. Congratulations :)

[Amy]

Thanks Kaeru. Us foreign women with Japanese partners have a few organizations, and it's a shame that foreign men don't have the same.

Loz, we took the classes last weekend and enjoyed them. I don't know how they compare to Japanese style classes, but I think it was great for my husband and I to get a non-Japanese perspective.

[Lauren Avery]

This is so helpful. I gave my husband a list of things I wanted from the place I birthed at, and he found the Mejiro clinic on his own. It's a little expensive, so I'm not committed to it yet...I hope you'll have time to post something about your experience there! Being a foreigner pregnant in Japan is pretty isolating.

[DC]

Episode 34 of The Japanofiles Podcast also features two English-speaking foreigner women talking about their experiences of being pregnant in Japan.