 Operation
Osaka Baby
When you find out you're having a baby in another country, far
away from home and without a decent grasp of the language, a lot of things
cross your mind: Will we cope here? Should we go home? What if we don't
agree with the local way of doing things? Nicola describes how having
her first baby in Japan has made her more open-minded!
When Nick and I found out we were expecting our first baby in Japan,
we had a lot to think about; we knew staying would be a fantastic experience
but we had no idea how much we would gain from it.
One of the oddest things about having a baby here is that it takes longer! In Japan women are pregnant for 10 months - not the usual 9. It's pretty straightforward really as the 40 weeks of pregnancy are simply divided neatly into 10 four-week months but whilst pregnant I just couldn't get my head around it! If a western person asked how many months pregnant I was, I'd add up calendar months, if Japanese, I'd add on an extra month for luck!
In Britain women are rarely weighed during pregnancy unless there is some medical reason to do so. In Japan it is normal. And mandatory. And public. The monthly weigh-in involved standing on huge scales looking ashamed of myself as the chief midwife sucked her teeth and announced to the whole waiting room that I had gained yet another 2 kgs - ouch! My subversive tactics included skipping breakfast that day, wearing my lightest clothes and even trying to imply that the scales were faulty!
After three months of much teeth-sucking and note taking, the midwife was forced to take action. I was given a hefty tome on low fat foods and their correct preparation, desirable weight gain charts and even the odd diagram of overweight pregnant ladies looking very miserable indeed. Happily I couldn't understand most of it, but I got the gist. Wrists duly slapped I resolved to do better and somehow managed to limit the total gain to 12kgs - still above acceptable limits for Japan but better than I was expecting. Though I would never have admitted it at the time, one year later I am very glad I didn't get any heavier.
Advice and suggestions from friends and acquaintances poured in thick and fast: Don't ride a bicycle, don't go to aerobics anymore, don't use the public baths, don't eat anything too delicious for fear of gaining weight and don't worry about wearing a seatbelt in the car. I followed some of it and quietly ignored the rest.
My doctor suggested that I should deliver the baby in Osaka's University Hospital.
He emphasized the fact that it is a teaching hospital and how, despite its
size, they don't see many western babies born there. I could see where this
was going. Feeling unusually cavalier, I agreed that if the student doctors
wanted to watch the delivery, then fine, bring them in - the more, the merrier!
One issue that really concerned me, however, was pain relief. My doctor's view was that it was neither necessary nor desirable and so, assuming no complications, I'd be expected to have a completely natural birth. Our plan had therefore been to stay at home for as long as possible when labour started and get to the hospital at the last minute, pop out the baby and go home! If only it were that easy!
My labour itself started on the Sunday afternoon and I went in to hospital on Monday morning in what can only be described as unmitigated agony. To my dismay we were told that there was still a long way to go. At first the midwives came rushing every time I pushed the emergency button, helping me breathe and calming me down as each contraction passed. After about 2 hours, however, I noticed their response times were getting longer and I was beginning to wonder if the button still worked when finally my doctor appeared. I was screaming and sobbing and generally being very non-Japanese by this stage. Now I think about it, I'm sure my wailing was starting to frighten the other women on the labour ward, if not the entire hospital! Either because he could see my obvious distress, or because he was worried about the effect I was having on the other women, he agreed that pain relief was necessary. Finally I got my epidural! Bliss.
John Henry was born approximately two hours later to a room full of student doctors, midwives and anaesthetists. Apparently there were at least a dozen people in the room at one stage, many of them student doctors - studying both medicine and English. I have a feeling I may have taught them a few new words not covered in the usual textbooks!
I stayed in hospital for five nights after the delivery and the staff were wonderful. Unfortunately hospital policy meant that when Nick came to visit he could only look at John through a window, which was hugely disappointing for both of us. In the end though, we had a healthy son and that was the main thing.
Since bringing John home we have been amazed by the interest that our little western boy has generated. The kindness of our neighbours and curiosity of the children has helped us to integrate more fully into our community and the whole experience has been extremely positive for our family. We hope that living here has made us more open minded and tolerant of other attitudes; values that we hope to instil in our son as he grows up. Having a baby anywhere is not easy but in many ways, having a baby in Japan is easier than you'd think.
Where to next?
|
