hear the army

I was thinking since I am trying to figure this all out myself for the first time, some others might be interested in how exactly all this works. Looking back I wish I had kept more diligent notes but when you are working and volunteering WHILE trying to figure it all out, you tend to forget those things.

So, to the best of my memory, here’s how it’s gone so far….

In Japan you are pregnant for 40 weeks – this seems to be the norm in the US also.

The first 3 months:
Once you’re late enough to notice and take a pregnancy home test you’ll most likely be about 5 weeks or more along. Then you’ll probably select a maternity clinic or hospital that handles births to confirm your suspicions. They will likely have you give a urine sample and take an internal ultrasound to be sure. The first ultrasound you take home will show nothing more than the gestational sack – a little black dot about 17mm long in the abyss. This checkup, if you have Japanese national health insurance will cost about 3,000 yen ($29.00).

TIPS:
Note your weight and BMI (body mass index) now – you’ll probably have an idea of what they were pre-pregnancy later but around now is your starting point and you’ll wanna keep track.
Also, you might want to take a “before” pic of your body – showing your belly now!

You’ll be told to return in 3-4 weeks if there’s nothing to worry about and at that time (your 8 week check up) you’ll be given another internal ultrasound to check the size and development of the baby – there should be a little heart beating in there by this time – very exciting! This visit will run you about the same as the last one and if all is well you’ll be told to come again in another month.

12 weeks is the golden time – when the risk of a miscarriage drops drastically! Congratulations! They will take a blood test at this time along with your first external ultrasound. This visit will run you about 12,000 yen or $118 due to the blood test. The doctor will then tell you to head to your local ward office to register your pregnancy.

Registering Your Pregnancy:
You can bring a certificate from the clinic confirming your pregnancy but all i did was go with my foreigner registration card (gaikokuji torokusho) and fill out a form. Be sure you have the name, address & telephone number of your clinic/hospital and doctor as you will need to fill these out too.

Then you will be given a Mother/Child Handbook (boshi techo). There are bilingual copies but they seem relatively think compared to the Japanese only copy so I requested both. My ward office refused to let me have both a bilingual book for my reference and a Japanese one for official use (to bring to the clinic, etc.), but a friend in the next ward was able to obtain both with no trouble both there and when she was pregnant in Tokyo, so i guess it just depends where you live. Thankfully she had a spare bilingual one so i just took hers for my own reference and use the Japanese one for real.

The book is to record your medical progress during the pregnancy and then your child’s for the next 7 years or so including immunization records so it is a VERY important document and should be brought to every medical visit for you and your child.

They also include the postcard you need to register the birth, 5 coupons for discounted check-ups during your pregnancy and a lot of other information (i think i’ve gotten rid of some – but something like this):

Be sure to have someone who can read the language go through it with you (if you can’t) to make sure you get what you need. There is information about free or cheap maternity classes sponsored by the city, a free dental check, etc.

One especially cute item is the pregnancy badge:

This badge says “I have a baby in my belly!” (onaka ne akachan ga imasu) and is to clip to your bag so hopefully people will notice you are pregnant even before you are showing and offer you their seat on the train/ not bash into you during rush hour. I am skeptical as to how well it would work (even moreso now that i have a huge belly and most people still don’t rush to offer me a seat) but was never so sickly or miserable that i had to use it. Most Japanese ladies i speak with are too embarrassed to clip it to their bags also…but it IS a good idea!

The other thing i found surprising is the list of kanji you get!

This is a list of the kanji that are “legal” to use to name your child. Things like “demon/satan”, etc. are not included and i think there was a case not so long ago where a couple tried ot use that character and were denied!!

So there you have it – 12 weeks down – only 28 to go! Mind you, the above is only the “business of the first 3 months” – it is REALLY a NOT FUN time as you will be painfully exhausted daily and feeling sickly the times you aren’t passed out drooling on something. Add to that the extra joy of not knowing if the pregnancy will make it (especially if you’ve miscarried before) and this can be an EXTREMELY taxing time so clear your calendar and take as many naps as possible – you’ll need them!