You're having a baby. Or maybe you already have a baby or two and you've just moved to Japan. You might know what kind of stuff you need (since a lot of that information is available in English) but how do you find what you need in Japanese? Are the car seats safe? Are the bottles BPA-free? Can you find organic bedding?
I attempted to answer these in the latest issue of Metropolis magazine, which you can read here, and then went ahead and elaborated a bit more below. I know there are many, many more baby products, but I believe most of what I've listed below are some of the more important ones, plus a few extras added in. I've also added my thoughts here and there in terms of what we've done to save money or what I like, but I believe that everything is different for every baby and family, so it's just there for anyone who might be curious or wondering.
And please, let me know in the comments what you'd like me to cover next, or what you've used and liked, didn't like, or whatever. I'm particularly keen to hear from those of you who use/have used bottles, as my kid wanted them desperately for a month and then refused them, so my knowledge of slow-flow - fast-flow or whatever it's called is limited.
On to our Japanese baby products:
Showing posts with label Pregnant in Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pregnant in Japan. Show all posts
How to Have a Baby (and not a Nervous Breakdown) in Japan
If you've been following the Pregnant in Japan series here on SiJ, then today's guest post from Erica of Expatria Baby may provide you some reassurance if you've just discovered you're pregnant and planning to give birth in Japan. Definitely check out Erica's blog as well for more of her adventures raising a baby in Japan.
- Ashley
***
While Ashley is off enjoying her new little love, I thought I’d bring you a few tips on having a baby in Japan while holding onto your sanity.
Babies are stressful. So is making them. But having a baby in a country where you don’t understand the health care system and can barely speak the language and cannot find BPA-free baby bottles even though I’m going to breastfeed OMGPANICGAH!
So, all you Japan-living pregnant ladies, I know you can’t take a chill pill, or even have a glass of wine, but you can read this post and put your feet up. So do that.
Accept The Fact That You Are In Japan And That Isn’t A Bad Thing
- Ashley
***
While Ashley is off enjoying her new little love, I thought I’d bring you a few tips on having a baby in Japan while holding onto your sanity.
Babies are stressful. So is making them. But having a baby in a country where you don’t understand the health care system and can barely speak the language and cannot find BPA-free baby bottles even though I’m going to breastfeed OMGPANICGAH!
So, all you Japan-living pregnant ladies, I know you can’t take a chill pill, or even have a glass of wine, but you can read this post and put your feet up. So do that.
Accept The Fact That You Are In Japan And That Isn’t A Bad Thing
Pregnant in Japan: Visiting the Doctor and What to Expect
We’re down to the wire with less than 2 weeks to go until baby’s due date. The past 9 months (or 10 if you go by the Japanese system) have flown by and I’ve found myself hustling to get things ready beforehand.
I haven’t written a “pregnant in Japan” post in a while (though they’ve been in my queue), so this time I want to write about what you might typically expect at a doctor visit when you’re pregnant in Japan.
Of course, specifics will vary depending on location, the doctor, and other factors. I’ve gone to a few different doctors in my entire process, two of which I’ve seen regularly, and what happens at each visit has been fairly standard and similar.
As for how often you’ll visit the doctor if you're pregnant in Japan, the typical schedule is once a month from 12 to 23 weeks, every two weeks from 24 to 35 weeks and once a week from 36 weeks on, unless you go over 40 weeks, as then you’d probably visit the doctor twice a week.
I haven’t written a “pregnant in Japan” post in a while (though they’ve been in my queue), so this time I want to write about what you might typically expect at a doctor visit when you’re pregnant in Japan.
Of course, specifics will vary depending on location, the doctor, and other factors. I’ve gone to a few different doctors in my entire process, two of which I’ve seen regularly, and what happens at each visit has been fairly standard and similar.
As for how often you’ll visit the doctor if you're pregnant in Japan, the typical schedule is once a month from 12 to 23 weeks, every two weeks from 24 to 35 weeks and once a week from 36 weeks on, unless you go over 40 weeks, as then you’d probably visit the doctor twice a week.
Pregnant in Japan: Diet, Nutrition and Weight Gain
This is part 3 of the "Pregnant in Japan" series. The first two parts cover pregnancy resources and how to find a doctor, midwife or hospital in Japan.Yes, there are some differences between Japan and western countries (and likely, many countries in general) in diet, nutrition and weight gain during pregnancy. I am mostly familiar with common standards in the US (from research), so feel free to share what may be different or the same in your home country. The information here is what I've found both online and in the pile of pamphlets and information the health center gave to us when we registered my pregnancy.
The topics covered in this post include:
Nutrition/Diet "Balance" Guide
Caloric Intake
Foods to Avoid
Fish to Avoid/Limit
Limit Salt
Weight Gain
Prenatal Supplements
Pregnant in Japan: How to find a doctor, hospital or midwife
Finding a doctor, specifically an OBGYN or midwife, in Japan can be difficult at times, particularly if you don't speak Japanese. Of course, if you live in Tokyo, or another metropolis, you'll have a far easier time (and most likely, many fellow expats with recommendations). But if you're like me, and many others outside of the big cities, a little more searching is sometimes required... (Note: resources and words to know are listed towards the bottom of this post).
Finding a doctor or midwife is important to do early if you're planning to give birth in Japan, as women "reserve" spots far in advance at hospitals and clinics for their deliveries. And let me stress, from my own experience, some places fill up fast (depending on your location). My due date is late August, and I didn't think we needed to be that serious so soon about finding a place to give birth, until we started calling around in February and discovered that many ladies clinics were already full for August (though, supposedly August is a popular month to give birth in Japan).
Now, women in Japan typically either give birth in a) a hospital or b) a ladies clinic (or sometimes a midwife clinic). When I started my research for myself, I spent time looking for midwives that specialize in home births to see if it was an option here, just so I could weigh all the possibilities, but from what I was able to find, most independent midwives specialize in other things related to childbirth than the actual delivery itself (such as breastfeeding or infant bathing consultations). I think I had heard some statistic from the U.S. saying that most women in Japan use midwives to give birth, but I think that was taken out of context. Yes, midwives often do work in the ladies clinics and at hospitals along with the doctors for childbirth, and there are special midwife clinics that do deliveries around Japan as well.
Finding a doctor or midwife is important to do early if you're planning to give birth in Japan, as women "reserve" spots far in advance at hospitals and clinics for their deliveries. And let me stress, from my own experience, some places fill up fast (depending on your location). My due date is late August, and I didn't think we needed to be that serious so soon about finding a place to give birth, until we started calling around in February and discovered that many ladies clinics were already full for August (though, supposedly August is a popular month to give birth in Japan).
Now, women in Japan typically either give birth in a) a hospital or b) a ladies clinic (or sometimes a midwife clinic). When I started my research for myself, I spent time looking for midwives that specialize in home births to see if it was an option here, just so I could weigh all the possibilities, but from what I was able to find, most independent midwives specialize in other things related to childbirth than the actual delivery itself (such as breastfeeding or infant bathing consultations). I think I had heard some statistic from the U.S. saying that most women in Japan use midwives to give birth, but I think that was taken out of context. Yes, midwives often do work in the ladies clinics and at hospitals along with the doctors for childbirth, and there are special midwife clinics that do deliveries around Japan as well.
Pregnant in Japan: Resources
I know many of you have given birth in Japan and have very different experiences, so I want to invite you to please share whatever you feel comfortable sharing - if you wrote some blog posts about your experience, feel free to post a link to them in the comments. Hopefully we'll be able to provide a nice variety of information for other soon-to-be mothers (and fathers).
General
Childbirth Education Center - Run by Brett Iimura, who provides information and birthing classes to the foreign community. Based in Tokyo, but she will be conducting classes by Skype now (yay!) and was very helpful to me when I sent her an email asking if she had any recommendations for birthing facilities in my area - as I was having a pretty difficult time (more on that in a later post).
HOW TO: Find a pregnancy test in Japan
Perhaps you're trying to get pregnant, or perhaps you weren't and suddenly you realize (or your partner realizes) that you missed your period. Probably the first thing many women do is head to the store to pick up a pregnancy test (after possibly panicking or being overcome with excitement). And if you're in Japan? Well, I'd assume you'd probably still want to pick up a pregnancy test in this case...
The pregnancy tests in Japan are really not much different than those in Western countries, but ALL tests in Japan are only proven to be 99% effective if taken one week after the expected start day of your missed period. I believe most tests in Western countries are like this as well, although there are some that supposedly can detect sooner.
Some of the pregnancy tests in Japan have an explanation in English about how to use them, though, most of us can probably agree they are pretty simple to use. Just pop the cap off and pee on the stick part. Wait a minute until the results show up. If there's a line, or plus sign, or whatever the positive symbol is, then you know you're most likely pregnant. If it's there but slightly faint, then try again in a few days.
The pregnancy tests in Japan are really not much different than those in Western countries, but ALL tests in Japan are only proven to be 99% effective if taken one week after the expected start day of your missed period. I believe most tests in Western countries are like this as well, although there are some that supposedly can detect sooner.
Some of the pregnancy tests in Japan have an explanation in English about how to use them, though, most of us can probably agree they are pretty simple to use. Just pop the cap off and pee on the stick part. Wait a minute until the results show up. If there's a line, or plus sign, or whatever the positive symbol is, then you know you're most likely pregnant. If it's there but slightly faint, then try again in a few days.
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| Pregnancy tests in Japan: Clearblue, Check One, P-Check, and do test from left to right |
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