Pregnancy in Japan: Cultural Differences

I've managed to survive my fourteen years in Japan without experiencing much culture shock. That doesn't mean I haven't faced cultural differences: there have been many, many of those, some of them huge, some of them trifling, and most of them interesting opportunities for learning something new. I thought I'd mostly gotten used to things though, and that there was little left for me to learn. But being pregnant has shown me that Japan has plenty of surprises left for me, and I think I might be going through a bit of culture shock, or at least culture surprise.

One early surprise was the lack of pregnancy euphemisms in Japanese. A few posts back I listed a bunch of ways to say "I'm pregnant" in English, and although I thought the list rather impressive I did manage to miss a few (as pointed out in the comments- it turns out there are expressions I've never even heard of, like "up the duff"). So the list was probably just a small sample of what's available in English, but in Japanese there's pretty much just one way to say it.

First, a mini language lesson: ninshin is "pregnancy" in Japanese, and with the addition of a verb or other word becomes "I'm pregnant" (or "she's pregnant") as in ninshin shiteiru, ninshin chuu, or ninshin desu. Those three ways really count as one in my book as they are all just variations of ninshin.

There are a few other ways to say it: a doctor who is reporting that your pregnancy test was positive might say omedeta desu yo or some variation (omedeta roughly translating as "congratulations"). It is a very polite expression and used more to announce another's pregnancy rather than identify yourself as pregnant. There is also the slang word dekichatta (very roughly translated as "I/we did it", with a strong "oops!" nuance), most often heard in the expression dekichatta kekkon (shotgun wedding). It is also used more for the initial pregnancy announcement and is always used in a slight joking or negative way. There may be other slang terms, but they would be used only within specific groups of people and I've certainly never heard them, and even if I had I wouldn't dare use them as Japanese slang evolves so rapidly that it would probably be out of date by the time I managed to remember it.

So because the above two expressions are rather limited in use, everyone just sticks with ninshin. On one hand it's kind of cool that the Japanese don't see any need to pussyfoot around the subject and are fine to just come right out and say it, unlike us prudish English speakers who often find it necessary to use an idiom. But at the same time this lack of vocabulary fits with the dearth of Japanese slang words, especially when it comes to body parts and bodily functions, which is kind of sad (compare the number of terms in English and Japanese for "sex" for example, or "piss", or "breasts", and you'll see what I mean). It really makes me appreciate the rich vocabulary of the English language.

Another cultural difference I discovered early on is that pregnancy is counted differently here. Japanese women are pregnant for ten months, not nine, and I just couldn't wrap my head around that until it was explained to me that those ten months are lunar months. Which means that each month lasts exactly four weeks, and four times ten equals forty: the exact number of weeks a woman is pregnant (by any country's reckoning). It actually makes a lot of sense.

With the western way of counting a pregnancy some months have four weeks and some have five weeks and there is no clear agreement: one baby book may say that the fifth month of pregnancy lasts from the 17th week to the 20th, others might say from the 17th to the 21st, others the 18th to the 21st. This also messes up the trimesters, with few sources agreeing on when each trimester ends and the next begins. But there is no confusion in Japan: the fifth month of pregnancy (ninshin gokagetsume), for example, is from week 16 to 19, and everyone knows it. The first trimester (ninshin shoki) lasts for the first four months, the second trimester (ninshin chuuki) the fifth to seventh months, and the third trimester (ninshin kouki) the eighth to tenth. Simple, right? The only confusion is that it's kind of hard to tell what month you are in just by looking at a calendar, as calendar months are different from lunar months.

One problem: although the Japanese counting system itself is not difficult, using it at the same time as the western system is terribly confusing. Especially for a math-challenged person like me. I actually had to create a chart to try to match up the weeks, so I'd be able to see at a glance where I was in counting system (the picture at the top of the post is my first attempt at a chart) So back in Canada I'd be eight months pregnant, but here in Japan I'm already in my ninth month. This was actually important at one point before I figured out the different systems and I went around saying I was four months pregnant, as per the western system.

Which brings us to cultural difference number three: the Japanese place a huge importance on the "danger" of the first four months, or first trimester, and it is a big, big event to pass safely on to the fifth month. Early in my pregnancy people kept asking me how far along I was, and since I hadn't reached the "safe zone" of five months would look all worried and tell me to be careful. I found this kind of ridiculous and just assumed this obsession with the fifth month was a silly old Japanese superstition, since where I'm from it's the fourth month that brings you into the safety zone (and people don't really obsess about the perils of the first trimester anyway). But I'd just not been calculating properly, and it turns out that this "safe" fifth month roughly corresponds to the beginning of the second trimester on the western schedule (and the risk of miscarriage does indeed go down in the second trimester). So it was a huge relief to my friends and acquaintances when I announced (a few weeks late, thanks to my faulty reckoning) that I was in my fifth month.

Thankfully healthcare professionals in Japan count pregnancy in weeks, just like everywhere else in the world, and there is never any confusion if I stick to weeks. Except that a Japanese pregnancy starts off at week 0 and a western pregnancy apparently starts at week 1. I think.

Is your head spinning too?

Comments

[lil]

hehe interesting! I'm at 36 weeks currently and my SIL just had her baby in Japan (she's japanese) and I'm 'up the duff' in australia as a small half japanese girl, we skype sometimes about the different foods they say to stay away from here vs there, down to the laboring techniques and how much weight to gain. Here they encourage weight gain up to 15kg sometimes depending on previous bmi, and there in japan it's a maximum of 8-9kg or you're in danger? How has that been brought up for you. All the midwives here are so concerned I'm not gaining enough it's hilarious.

[illahee]

one way of expressing pregnancy here (fukuoka? japan?) is ookii. i think. as in, 'onaka ga ookii?' it REALLY threw me for a loop the first time i heard it and i was actually rather offended. LOL

i hope the next few weeks are smooth sailing for you and the bub!

[illahee]

p.s. i LOVE your new profile pic! yay!

[Aurore1]

Congratulations on being heavy with feet.

I had this apprehension that you may not post regularly. It's always great to see your posts. My daughter is now pregnant and I have recommended your blog to her.

[Kaeru]

This is spot on! I am married to a pregnant Japanese. Im a guy + I'm not Japanese, can you imagine how lost I am? I can't tell if what my wife tells me is just a Japanese thing or a universal thing.

Also she has a pregnancy book in Japanese. I have one in English(an American book). Mine says pregnant women should not eat honey, hers says honey is ok!

Whats a confused gaijin guy to do?

p.s. illahee , are you from Fukuoka as well?

[Amy]

Congratulations Lil! The 8-9kg is pretty typical here, and it tends to be strictly enforced. My midwife recommended a generous 12kg (A goal I reached a month ago!) and my doctor said 8kg. They are both relatively laid back about it, but I've heard of doctors and nurses causing total misery by badgering patients who gain more than 8kg.

Thanks Illahee! I wonder if that's a Fukuoka/Kyushu thing? Maybe the regional dialects do have expressions for pregnancy- there goes my theory!

Thanks Aurore1, and congrats! I'm sure I'll be posting even less from mid-September...

Kaeru, congratulations! My advice is to do tonnes of research, keep an open mind, and don't pester her too much about her diet (not that I'm assuming you are). Don't worry about the honey, (but definitely no honey for the baby in the first year!). North Americans/westerners tend to worry much more about food, and your book (and most other English language resources) will have a long list of foods to avoid. Some of them are just silly (like the honey), some don't apply to Japan (like sushi) but a few are worth discussing with your wife. In general Japanese are not well educated about the dangers of listeria and mercury during pregnancy. The information is out there (in Japanese, I mean) but not always mentioned in Japanese pregnancy books or by doctors. Look it up and discuss it with your wife.

And make sure she's taking a prenatal multivitamin, or at least a folic acid substitute! Also, check out stippy.com's series on pregnancy in Japan (written from a similar perspective to yours), here is part 1: http://www.stippy.com/japan-life/getting-pregnant-in-japan-1/. Part 4 and 5 are about nutrition and mercury so may be of special interest to you.

[Kaeru]

Wow, Amy, These are great tips! Will certainly look into listeria and mercury, though I think she is aware that large fish can contain mercury. (The only time she won't eat sushi). Thanks for the links as well. Have just read the first one but definitely helpful!

I'd be curious to read a post about pre-natal care in Japan, what with those little notebooks they hand out to every pregnant mother that they need to bring to the doctor regularly to fill up..or maybe that is just in Fukuoka?

[illahee]

i am in fukuoka-ken, it's a great place to live!

i think you mean the boshi-techo? all expecting mothers get them, even foreigners! :D

amy, i'll have to ask my husband a bit more about expressing pregnancy, but as he's a man (well, duh) he may not know a lot about it. maybe i'll ask at japanese class, as all the volunteers there are older japanese women. i know that when i use 'ninshinshiteiru', a lot of people don't get what i'm talking about at first! could be my pronunciation, though....

[Sean]

Have been through this once in Japan already, and now getting ready for part 2! The method of counting the months and the weeks has always mixed me up, and not sure I will ever get used to the different counting methods...

Good luck! I can only imagine how the heat is affecting you!

[Amy]

Kaeru, she doesn't have to avoid sushi- there's so much out there other than tuna. And although it's true that larger fish are generally higher in mercury than smaller fish, it has more to do with the age of the fish than the size. Some small and medium fish, like kinmedai, have high mercury levels too.

About the boshi techo: there are bilingual ones available and I highly recommend you get one and start having it filled in, as it will be used beyond pregnancy until six years of age. Chances are you'll occasionally have to take your child to the doctor, and having the boshi techo in English will help you understand what's going on. Ask for it at your local city/ward office or order it here: http://www.mcfh.co.jp/cat04/295.html

Illahee, I've also had people not get what I was talking about, but that's because I tend to mix up "ninshin", "nishin", and "ninjin". I've told more than a few people that I'm "carroting" or "herringing"!

Congratulations Sean, and I love your blog. The heat is not that bad as I usually time my outings in the early mornings or evenings. And I'd much rather deal with a pregnant belly in this heat than a newborn baby!

[Anthony Fensom]

Interesting - my wife was told in Japan she had to lose weight but in Australia she was told to gain it! Think they tend to keep them in longer in Japanese hospitals also, although my wife quite enjoyed her stay in a private room at Brisbane's Mater Hospital. Best of luck with everything!

[Amy]

Anthony, I've heard of Japanese doctors telling pregnant women to lose weight, and think it's outrageous. These days a five day stay after birth is the norm, and I'm really looking forward to mine!