Mie- Long time no comment! I still follow Kokochi whenever you post but I hadn`t commented recently either- I can not believe that Tesla is now going to preschool.

In regards to your questions about the birth plan options I have here it really depends on the hospital/clinic you go to. Homebirths and waterbirths are possible here- A foreign friend had a water birth at a clinic in Tokyo and the clinic was a tiny place run by a doctor and his wife (his wife did all the cooking for the patients). There are other water birthing options in Tokyo as well- in other parts of Japan I think they are there but you would have to be pretty thorough in your searching.

I do not know what the laws are on homebirths in this country BUT Medea, who reads this blog and blogs here http://medeafication.blogspot.com/ had a homebirth in Southern Japan earlier this year when her daughter was born. She would know more about what this entailed and how you could go about it. Unfortunately that is the extent of my knowledge.

Pain relief in Japan is fairly non-existent. You can definitely find clinics/hospitals that offer it but it is extremely expensive. My clinic has it but at an extra $1000 or more on top of the bill (and pregnancy is not really covered under general health cover here) it was not really an option for us- especially since you need to book it in advance and therefore make the decision to have it even before you are in labour. As far as I am aware you can get some drips with pain relief but I am not sure or not if my clinic has this although I have heard others who have given birth in Japan talk about it.

C-sections- Again not exactly sure. I know that here, in a lot of places, if you have had a previous c-section then they advise you to have another for a second or third baby. I know in Australia though, where I am from, that in lots of cases if mother and baby are doing well they will let you have a natural birth later on. Maybe some of the other bloggers who read this could comment. I don`t have many Japanese friends that are mums so I am not sure if they are as common as back home. It seems that something like 1 in 3 people back home have C sections but that is just based on what I have heard. I know that even though my clinic is a relatively small clinic that they can perform c-sections there if needed. So I would not need to be transferred to a hospital for a c-section if it came to that. As for elective c-sections- I think in the ex-pat areas of Japan then that would probably be an option but maybe not where I am.

My clinic has a lot of midwives and I know that I will mainly be with midwives and nurses for my birth unless their are any complications. I have choosen the labour delivery room meaning that I can labour and deliver in the same room and move freely during labour, as well as take showers etc up until a certain point. This is not always the case in Japan and a lot of clinics and almost all hospitals will leave you in a bed strapped to a fetal monitor for most of your labour meaning you can not try to get into more comfortable positions.

Inductions seem quite common here as well if you are overdue and often you are not given the “choice”.

Japan seems backwards in a lot of way but I do think they are moving forward especially in the metropolitan areas. Some places do sound like hell and there have certainly been a lot of horror birth stories come out of Japan- but that said I am sure some people have had horror birthing experiences in the US as well.

Can’t wait to see your story unfold : )

That’s the exact boob program I was on I think.. it must’ve worked cuz the milk was free flowing by the second night, never engorged and it sorted out the flat nipple issue too (TMI!! sorry) My clinic didn’t even offer formula as an option… they recommended supplementing with the sugar water, but I declined and she was perfectly fine =) Hope it runs smoothly for you too.

Shun sounds like he’s doing a fantastic job getting ready to be a daddy <3 It’s SO sweet seeing the man you love step up to the challenge and get excited about it all. Even sweeter when the bub is HERE and you see them together. You guys are gonna be great parents!

The doctors here have never mentioned a boob massage to me. I wish I had known some method for getting the milk out though when I was completely engorged with DS and in soooo much pain. From what you say, your clinic sounds really great, I’m jealous actually!

Isn’t it great when you and the Mr. are a team– I like sharing chores with the Mr., and it was awfully sweet of yours to be so caring and helpful.. He’s a total keeper!!!

= )