Pregnancy, Delivery and Recovery in Japan

Many people have thought it crazy that I would have my second child in Japan instead of America... me being one of them.

It was extremely nerve racking to think about having Kira in a place unknown to me.

I was 20 weeks pregnant when we arrived in Japan. Once in the system, I had my first of many regular checkups. The hospital I went to had a normal check of: Pee in a cup, wait for your number to be screened, stand on the scale for weight check, blood pressure check in machine, ultrasound, possible blood check and vaginal examination then go into a separate room to talk with a midwife about all the results and next steps.

First off, there is so much paper work and always tons of questions. They are extremely thorough every time. During the ultrasound, they check the weight by measuring the head and femur bone, check all the arteries and always do a 4D sonogram on the face. I did not have a specific doctor. Basically whoever is working, will help deliver the baby. Thankfully my favorite doctor came for Kira’s birth.

In Japan, weight gain is a big deal to the doctors. They were always on me about my weight. They said it is easier to deliver the baby with less weight gain. It felt discouraging at times because I felt I was doing well but I had to understand it is a different culture and I am a different body type. It gave me comfort having had given birth before.

When getting an examination, you go into a room and sit in a chair with a curtain in front of you. The chair then lifts up and basically turns into stirrups. I call it the “fun chair.” It is basically your own mini roller coaster. They keep the curtain hiding your faces for "privacy," as many people are shy. They will talk to you to tell you what all they are going to do.

Later in pregnancy, they do a baby movement check every appointment. Two monitors are placed on your stomach and it monitors the baby’s heartbeat and movement, as well as the tightness the mother feels.
**During my pregnancy, at 35 weeks I had this check. I began having intense contractions. It felt like strong tightness and pressure but no pain. I was monitored for over an hour and they were surprised there was no pain. The doctor recommended me to stay in the hospital on IV for 10 days.
Dan and I chose for me to go home and be on bed rest. They gave me pills to stop the contractions.
Once arriving home, I spoke out verses and confessions over myself and Kira and the contractions stopped. I never had them to that extent again until labor.
I was on bed rest for about three weeks. Thankfully Dan was amazing and took care of me and Caellum. He made dinners, took him to play, helped me in and out of bed at times, etc.
Another time, I was having terrible pain in my pelvic area. Dan prayed and it immediately went away. God did so many great things in my pregnancy (with Caellum and Kira).
Around 20 weeks I read a book called "Supernatural Childbirth" by Jackie Mize.
It's an encouraging book about having a pain free quick and easy childbirth with results of a healthy baby and mother (containing many testimonies).  After reading the book, I made a confession and prayer booklet. I had many verses and specific prayers I spoke out at least 5+ times a week up to her birth. I believed for a quick, painless, easy, supernatural childbirth. If God did it for others, He would do it for me. The Bible says we were cursed since the first sin and women would have child pain. Yet in the New Testament we know we are now redeemed from the curse and Jesus took it all for us. I believed and hung on to every word. Dan was 100% in agreement with me.

My due date was February 21. Awhile back, Dan and I had asked God to speak to us on when we would have Kira. I heard God say February 17 and sure enough, she came then! During that morning I was having irregular tightness. After Caellum went down for an early nap, Dan and I were watching one of our favorite TV shows (The Flash). My contractions started happening 10 minutes apart. They became more and more intense but were not truly hurting until an hour before going to the hospital. At 11am I had consistent contractions. At 1pm we left for the hospital. I was dilated to 8cm upon arrival. They quickly took me to a room and put me in a gown and in stirrups. The doctor got dressed and ready. In two contractions I dilated to 9cm. The doctor broke my water and in one more contraction, I had terrible pain and started pushing. In eight excruciating pushes, Kira was born. After much pressure, the placenta finally came then the doctor was able to do stiches. In the midst of pushing, the doctor told me he would perform an episiotomy. I freaked out crying (because I believed to not have to have one). Thankfully I did not feel it and it did help! I truly became a Jackel and Hyde within those thirty minutes of delivery. I was in testimony of how contractions don’t hurt me then I became a psycho screaming in pain and asking my husband to keep praying and to pray harder! Everyone kept telling me to relax and breath but I had no concept of either at the time. The pain and pressure I felt in those moments I will never forget (but I hope it wears off in time). I was also upset because I kept telling Dan “it’s not working.”

Why didn’t I receive the PAIN-FREE childbirth I so heavily believed for and had heard numerous testimonies of? I do not know! BUT I DO know God answered many other prayers I had taken for granted that day. The contractions were minimal pain (if any compared to pushing), it was quick and easy for the most part, it happened on February 17, we were both fully healthy, I had my favorite doctor, and it happened in the afternoon after Caellums naptime. Kira was 8.5 pounds. You see, since I believed for completely no pain, I had NO information or clue about how a natural birth even worked (as I had had an epidural with Caellum that lasted many hours and was a harder recovery). I did not know when to push or how to position myself or how to breathe (what to focus on). Once again I am extremely thankful now looking back on it that God helped me persevere. I remember seeing how ridiculous the movies make natural births look. But it is SO TRUE! It is amazing to think about the turmoil our bodies can go through and how they can heal. I recall myself repeating over and over after she came out, “I did it. I did it.”

I was very hesitant in writing this blog because right after delivery I felt traumatized by the experience and was scared to ever think of the possibility of being pregnant again. **My hospital did offer an epidural. I said I wanted a natural childbirth (yet the option was always there)… also by the time I got to the hospital, I would not have had time to have gotten one if I wanted.
Now looking back I can see Gods hand through it all and the love I have for my child makes me beyond grateful.

About the hospital stay and recovery…
After giving birth, a woman will stay in the hospital for four days. After I gave birth, they did some tests on Kira and cleaned her up. I recovered for a while then they came in and changed everything on me. The midwife came and cleaned me everywhere with warm towels and put a new gown on me. Around 6pm, they brought me dinner. The food served at my hospital was amazing! It was all Japanese dishes but I do love Japanese food for the most part! After dinner, they took me to my room and took the baby to the nursery for the night while I recovered. Dan left to pick up Caellum and go home for the night. ((During all of this, Caellum was at the churches preschool having a blast and then went to Yoshi’s and played there… we were incredibly worried about him being away from us since he never is. Thankfully he did amazing and it was a relief to not have to worry about it during all of the transition)). That evening I relaxed and was in and out of sleep. No one really came to bother me for the whole night. The days started at 6am and I would have a new nurse come in and greet me. They were caring and loving by always have a chart in English. They would point to a question and we would interact with little Japanese and English and a lot of charades ha-ha. I felt cared for and like a priority. In the morning I had breakfast and had a few more checkups/clean ups. Also next to the nursery, there is a room every mother goes to (if desired) to feed the baby. There were pillows and tons of cloths and boppys. We would all nurse our babies in there and the nurses would walk around and help us. (It is very common to nurse here and try not to do formula).  It was nice to feel I was in the same boat as all the other moms. I met a mother at one ‘session’ who spoke English. She had her baby one day before me. She had learned English from American pastors at a Baptist church in my city as well as in Canada short term. She told Dan and I that she has been singing gospel for 12 years but was not a Christian (very common in Japan). On a side note… she came to same bye before we left the hospital and we got to pray for her. She was the sweetest!

Kira did an amazing job at latching on and eating well. Unfortunately over a few days my milk came in heavily (and still is) with oversupply and a strong let down. Although she is still doing amazing now three weeks later and has great weight gain. Throughout the next few days there were many checkups and questions with a lot of quiet time of recovery and nursing sessions. My room consisted of a bed, sink, 2 chairs, night stand, small table, and a fridge and TV (to pay if I wanted to use). The hospital provided EVERYTHING I needed. The bathrooms were down the hall and the shower room was a few floors above. They provided me with new clothes to borrow daily after showering, fresh towels and cloths, all toiletries, pads, nursing pads, diapers and wipes, slippers, etc. The shower rooms had soaps and everything I would need. There was a dressing area and ‘get ready’ area with chairs, blow dryers and lotions. I LOVED going in there while the nurses watched Kira. There’s nothing like that first shower after childbirth…

One of the last nights, the hospital had a complimentary dinner for our new family. Dan and Caellum came and we went to the 6^th floor to enjoy some interesting Japanese dishes. Since Caellum was busy we quickly ate and explored with him. He did not care too much to come to the hospital and did not know how to react around Kira at first. He wanted to play, explore and wanted me to go home with them. At this hospital, only the mom and baby stay. Visiting hours are from morning until 8pm. There are bigger rooms available on other hospital floors for extra cost.

The first few days I stayed in the hospital, I felt sad and lonely because I did not know the language, had no friends to come visit me and could not be with my husband or family. Another unfortunate part was the fact that the rooms were thin and outside was loud from the snow plowing and ambulance cars. A great thing was my hallway consisted of all the same rooms filled with recovering mothers and hungry sleepy babies which gave me a peace and unity with it all. Sometimes mothers would be walking around trying to comfort the cries of their newborns, others would be trying to scurry to the bathroom or head to the elevator to take a fresh shower. Everyone understood each other even though few words were spoken.

At times when I felt lonely, a simple smile or head bow from others filled me with peace. Anytime I went to the nursing area, I felt uplifted because of the encouragement and sweet smiles of the nurses. Once time got close to leave, I found myself wanting to stay. To be cared for and to be able to bond with my child one on one before coming home was extremely beneficial.

Now at times I tell Dan I miss the hospital. There were no obligations or responsibilities. I had great food and was cared for immensely. Even on the day of being released, I had a doctor do my checkup that spoke ‘true’ English and made me feel comfortable. They taught me how to thoroughly give Kira a bath and watched me do it. ((Fun fact… Japanese parents keep the umbilical cord in a keepsakes box of their children… eww… lol… needless to say, we threw hers away)). I also received a free AMAZING oil hand massage and a gift of 200 new born baby diapers from the hospital. It is crazy how many diapers a new born baby goes through… I surely thought that 200 would be too many but we are down to one of our last packs and she is only three weeks old!

Overall, I used minimal pain killers and have had a GREAT recovery! Kira has been doing wonderful (although she wants to co-sleep and be held a lot… not a problem with me!) and Caellum has been the sweetest big brother. He may not do a lot or say much but he will hold her hand, touch her feet or babble to her in his own way at times.

I am nervous of now being a mother of two but I am also blessed by it. Dan’s parents have been staying with us the day after we arrived home from the hospital. They have been a HUGE help in all this transition. I hope it continues to go this well once they leave. My biggest concern is how to keep Caellum entertained or happy when I am nursing her or have to be holding her as well. Either way, I know we will all figure it out over time and over trial and error. I also have to say, I would not have been able to accomplish such a great pregnancy, delivery and recovery without our friends Yoshi and Ayumi. She went to every doctor’s appointment with me, she was there for Kira’s birth and in my hospital stay to help translate and be a support. I am BEYOND grateful for her and her help more than she realizes.

Japan was an amazing place to have Kira. Every hospital of course is different (as it is in America) but I would not trade the experience at all!