David thought it would be good for me to write a little bit about our experience with being pregnant in Japan and some differences we noticed or know of from the U.S. We have never had a baby in the U.S. but I began my pregnancy there and have many friends who have had babies and have shared their experiences throughout the process.
This is just an introduction to 'Pregnancy in Japan.' I will write a follow-up later with our experience and the stay in the clinic.
The missionaries here, Tony and Marcia Haug, had 2 of their 3 in Japan and Marcia has helped us with the language barrier through the entire process. She found us an amazing Doctor who has been wonderful and speaks English. Our Doctor's name is Noguchi.
When a woman discovers she is pregnant in Japan, she has to go down to city hall and register her pregnancy. If you are interested in reading about that experience please go to our 'Registering in Shimonoseki' blog post Click Here
Every time I go for a check-up I have to do several different types of test. They have a blood pressure machine like you find at Wal-Mart or CVS and it takes your blood pressure and heart rate. It prints out a little paper and when you are called by the nurse you give it to her. When the nurse calls, you go back with her and you are weighed and she writes it on the blood pressure paper.
I was told by friends in states that the glucose test is awful. They make you drink some yucky liquid and then you have to sit for an hour before a blood draw. Here, I was given a clear liquid in a clear glass bottle and it actually tasted like Sprite. It didn't taste bad at all.
Pretty much only Dr. Noguchi speaks English, there is one nurse who knows more English and she usually checks us in and out. They have all been very sweet. Some of them have short English phrases written in their notebooks that they will use or show me when they want me to do something. Such as, 'step on the scale' or 'please go back to wait' or 'I need to take blood.'
When we are called back to see Dr. Noguchi, the visit is usually very quick. He asks how we are doing and how I am feeling and if we have any questions. He does an ultrasound at every visit and takes measurements and checks the heartbeat of the baby. The ultrasound is sometimes 3D too. He lets us know if anything looks concerning or if everything looks OK. I know that this is something that is different in the U.S. My Doctor in the U.S. told me that he will only do 2 ultrasounds during a pregnancy unless they discover something is wrong; one at the beginning to determine due date and one half-way through to check the anatomy and gender of the baby. That is why I have a photo album (shown below) to hold the photos given to us by Dr. Noguchi, we get at least 2 or 3 at every visit. It has been so fun for David and I to get ready for our Doctor appointments, we get so excited knowing we are going to see baby Samuel.
At one of our last visits it looked like he was sucking his thumb!! At an earlier visit, just out of the blue, Dr. Noguchi said, 'Oh, American eye socket.' We both laughed and I thought, well yes I hope so :) Discussing it later, David and I thought it was the coolest thing that you can see that even in the womb. I think it has been interesting for our Doctor also to see the different growth patterns of Samuel compared to Japanese babies. When he tells us about the measurements he may say 'Oh, a little big, but OK.'
The following photos are not in any specific order.
Stay tuned for another post soon about my stay in the clinic and post-baby.
This is just an introduction to 'Pregnancy in Japan.' I will write a follow-up later with our experience and the stay in the clinic.
The missionaries here, Tony and Marcia Haug, had 2 of their 3 in Japan and Marcia has helped us with the language barrier through the entire process. She found us an amazing Doctor who has been wonderful and speaks English. Our Doctor's name is Noguchi.
When a woman discovers she is pregnant in Japan, she has to go down to city hall and register her pregnancy. If you are interested in reading about that experience please go to our 'Registering in Shimonoseki' blog post Click Here
Every time I go for a check-up I have to do several different types of test. They have a blood pressure machine like you find at Wal-Mart or CVS and it takes your blood pressure and heart rate. It prints out a little paper and when you are called by the nurse you give it to her. When the nurse calls, you go back with her and you are weighed and she writes it on the blood pressure paper.
I was told by friends in states that the glucose test is awful. They make you drink some yucky liquid and then you have to sit for an hour before a blood draw. Here, I was given a clear liquid in a clear glass bottle and it actually tasted like Sprite. It didn't taste bad at all.
Pretty much only Dr. Noguchi speaks English, there is one nurse who knows more English and she usually checks us in and out. They have all been very sweet. Some of them have short English phrases written in their notebooks that they will use or show me when they want me to do something. Such as, 'step on the scale' or 'please go back to wait' or 'I need to take blood.'
When we are called back to see Dr. Noguchi, the visit is usually very quick. He asks how we are doing and how I am feeling and if we have any questions. He does an ultrasound at every visit and takes measurements and checks the heartbeat of the baby. The ultrasound is sometimes 3D too. He lets us know if anything looks concerning or if everything looks OK. I know that this is something that is different in the U.S. My Doctor in the U.S. told me that he will only do 2 ultrasounds during a pregnancy unless they discover something is wrong; one at the beginning to determine due date and one half-way through to check the anatomy and gender of the baby. That is why I have a photo album (shown below) to hold the photos given to us by Dr. Noguchi, we get at least 2 or 3 at every visit. It has been so fun for David and I to get ready for our Doctor appointments, we get so excited knowing we are going to see baby Samuel.
At one of our last visits it looked like he was sucking his thumb!! At an earlier visit, just out of the blue, Dr. Noguchi said, 'Oh, American eye socket.' We both laughed and I thought, well yes I hope so :) Discussing it later, David and I thought it was the coolest thing that you can see that even in the womb. I think it has been interesting for our Doctor also to see the different growth patterns of Samuel compared to Japanese babies. When he tells us about the measurements he may say 'Oh, a little big, but OK.'
The following photos are not in any specific order.
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| At one of my first visits they gave me a CD, to borrow, and said that this is the music they will play in the deliver room. They wanted me to listen to it and focus on breathing so that during delivery it may help me relax. |
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| This is the appointment card. Having worked at a Doctor's office, this is a great idea to save on card stock. They put all of my appointments on here until the card is full. Since I started half-way through I wondered if I would fill the card. Only one spot left, so we shall see!! |
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| This book was mentioned in our 'Registering in Shimonoseki' blog post. It's a record of my whole pregnancy. They keep records also so I don't really understand why they write one out for me, but it has been neat to look over how much weight I have gained or how many centimeters my stomach has grown since we began. The city gives you a new book for each child. |
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| There are special cloth holders for these books. I have seen them at the mall and the baby stores here. They have them in different patterns and themes. It also has pockets for the appointment cards and receipts. |
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| I was given this in the U.S. at my gender ultrasound but I use it to keep the photos given to us by Dr. Noguchi. |
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| They give you a Childbirth guide book that has a lot of information about eating healthy, how to take care of yourself during pregnancy, regular visits to the Doctor, labor process, what to pack for the stay in the clinic, and how to care for yourself and your baby immediately following the birth when you go home. I have one in English and Japanese. It has been very helpful. |
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| When we registered our pregnancy in Shimonoseki, they gave me this bag with all of the information and papers, I take it with me to every visit because there are so many things I don't know what they are because they are in Japanese. If the nurses are asking for something I hand them the bag and they can usually find it!! |
Stay tuned for another post soon about my stay in the clinic and post-baby.
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