hear the army

Making sure your child is thriving is going to preoccupy all of your braincells for at least the first few months of you child’s life (if not forever) and while you’ll have no shortage of books and websites to help you along – things are done a little different here (well, I’ve never raised a child anywhere else, but I know at least the vaccine schedule is different than in the US), so here’s a preview of how things go:

You’ll have your mother-child handbook (boshi techo 帽子手帳) to help you record all of the scheduled things and other notes, but you’ll want to note from day one every nursing, bottle, diaper change and temperature you take. I used a notebook for this, but if you have an iPhone, like I do now, I highly recommend the Total Baby application. Then you can keep all that information handy and with you at all times. If your baby is exclusively breastfed, your only indicator of how well they are eating, etc. is how many dirty diapers they have and their weight so it’s VERY important to track.

If your child is covered under the Japanese National Health Insurance, everything in their first year will be free. Most vaccinations are FREE (all below are unless otherwise noted). If they get a cold and you take them to an Ear, Nose & Throat Dr. to suck out their snot for you – FREE. If you have to get some antibiotics for an infection they have – FREE.

Note there is a little questionnaire in your mother-child handbook before each check-up that you should fill out. There is also a form to fill out before every vaccination. Ask for it beforehand so you can take it home and fill it out with someone who can translate if you can’t read. After the first the others are all about the same so with some basic reading skills, you can probably wing it yourself.

You’ll go to the 1 month check-up at the clinic/hospital where you gave birth.

BCG (Tuberculosis)
At 4 months you’ll have the next scheduled checkup usually at the local ward office (kuyakusho 区役所) accompanied by the BCG (Tuberculosis) vaccination. Your pediatrician can give you the information on when this happens in your ward, you can call, or check a local newspaper that will list the schedule. This is not a routine vaccine in the USA, but if you’re planning to have your child grow up here, it’s probably a good idea. I’ve read about families who are planning to return to the States within a few years sticking to the US schedule and still being allowed to attend schools here, but it probably involves a little extra red tape. (Note, if you did return to the states your child might have a false positive to a TB skin test so you’ll have to document their vaccination)

This vaccine can leave a permanent scar of 9 spots on the upper arm of your child, but many say their children lost the scar by about 2 year’s old. My daughter still has it at 16 months.

The whole experience of everyone in your ward with a 4mth old having a check-up and vaccine at the same time is a bit surreal, but it’s also quite interesting to see all the shapes and sizes the same age children come in and to chat up other mothers around you.

DPT (Diphtheria・Pertussis・Tetanus ジフテリア・百日せき・ 破傷風)
A month later, assuming your child hasn’t had any other illness, you will have to find a pediatrician to have the second vaccination your little one will get in Japan, DPT. You can search for one online – google your ward and shounika 小児科 and you should get a list. Probably the best way is to ask other mothers in your area so chat up moms you see! Again, if you’re out here with no one, let me know – I’ll help if i can!

This is given three times with a 3-8 week waiting period inbetween.

Polio (ポリオ)
These are still given orally in Japan vs. via injection as in the USA. The oral vaccine is live and the one via injection is inactivated. Unfortunately, “About one in 2.4 million people who received the OPV contracted polio.” in the USA so they stopped doing it this way. I don’t know the current statistics in Japan, but it must be small. You should be extra careful for a few weeks after when you change your baby’s diaper as they will be shedding the virus in their feces.

POLIO VACCINE WARNING! If your child hasn’t had the vaccine (say they were sick at the time and couldn’t get it when the rest of the city did), it’s best to not let them play with other children that have had the polio vaccine for a few weeks. This is why Japan only offers the vaccine twice a year en masse – so there won’t be children randomly shedding the virus throughout the year putting all who haven’t been vaccinated yet at risk. BE CAREFUL!

The Polio vaccine is offered twice a year at my local ward office, in May and in November.

You have another routine checkup at 6 months at your pediatrician’s office.

Next checkup: 9 months.

(MR) Measles・Rubella (麻しん・風しん)
At 1 year old, your child will get the MR vaccination.

Now, you are welcome to get the other vaccines that are standard in the USA, but you will have to pay. I am a bit behind and have only gotten my daughter the Hib (ヒブ)vaccine (once after they are 1 year old) and the Mumps (おたふくかぜ) vaccine. Both will run you around $60 or ￥6,000.

There is a lot of debate about vaccinations now, so I actually feel more comfortable with the slower, wait till their older method here.

After they turn 1 year old, depending on your income, you might have to start paying for a portion of their doctor’s visits, but this usually isn’t too painful. For example, my daughter had a urine test, blood drawn and tested, and an exam for ￥2,720 ($28).

The above is all that is recommended in Japan in the first year and your next check-up is at 1 year, 6 months old.

A few useful words:
抗生物質  koseibushitsu   antibiotic
接種     sesshu     vaccination/shot
ワクチン    wakuchin     vaccine