Hello Everyone! Welcome back to my Pregnant in Japan series. Today, I will finally start talking about my prenatal hospital visits! If you haven't already, please check out the first two parts about the beginning steps of your pregnancy journey here in Japan! Part One | Part Two.

Once the doctor confirmed that my pregnancy was viable via ultrasound, he asked me which hospital I wanted to deliver at. If I could go back in time, I would have had done research on hospitals the moment I found out I was pregnant because here in Japan, delivery appointments get snatched up very fast, and there's limited space.

So, with very minimal research, I chose to deliver at the Yokohama City Minato Red Cross Hospital. I chose this hospital based on its location and it being a familiar name. I do not recommend this method, but I'm pretty sure that if you are really unhappy with your choice, you can deliver at another hospital.

Once I made my choice, the doctor called the hospital and made me an appointment! At my particular hospital, a referral letter and advanced appointment is needed unless it is an emergency.


FIRST HOSPITAL VISIT | 初診

I had my first hospital visit at around 11 weeks. When you walk into my particular hospital, there is a line of counters on the left side. We visited the "first time patient/新患受付" counter, turned in our referral letter/紹介状, and we were asked to register with the hospital. This process is done by yourself, and there was a table with tablets hooked up to scanners. Unfortunately, everything is in Japanese, so please have someone with you who can help you, if you cannot do it yourself. We were then, on the tablet, prompted to scan my health insurance card and register my information.


MEDICAL EXAM CARD | 診察カード

After that, we visited the counter and was presented with a few forms and was given a "Medical Exam Card". This card looks and feels like a credit card and has your name on it. The hospital uses it to access all of your information, and you will use it to pay.  So, please bring your hospital card with you every time!

ITINERARY RECEIPT | 会計番号票
We were also given what looked like a receipt, but this just has a summary of your visit on it. Every time you complete a task on your receipt (urinalysis, blood draw, etc.), the hospital staff will check it off.

LANGUAGE

In this hospital, everything up until my appointment with the doctor was in Japanese. Although I requested an interpreter on my initial registration form, I was never provided with one. So, I'm not quite sure how you obtain one. If you're worried, please inquire more about translators and interpreters, or bring a friend with you who can speak Japanese.

URINALYSIS | 尿検査

The first task was to "pee in a cup", so I went to the "urinalysis" counter, confirmed my identity, went to the restroom and turned in my cup.

BLOOD DRAW | 採血
The second task was to get my blood drawn. This is another counter, confirmed my identity, and they withdrew blood.


OB/GYN DEPARTMENT

I first had to register at the reception, fill out a few forms and turn in my voucher booklet and mother child handbook. After that, I was asked to take my own weight and blood pressure.

After waiting for a bit, I was able to finally see the doctor. I got really lucky that day and the OB/GYN on duty spoke English. She did a short interview with me, and most importantly, asked if I wanted an epidural. I declined, but if you even think you might even want one even a little bit, you need to tell them NOW. However, be reminded that the cost is often out of pocket and expensive.

After the interview, she did a intrauterine ultrasound and cervical cancer screening. You get one free screening per pregnancy! She then talked about the babies growth, gave us the ultrasound pictures, scheduled our next appointment, and we were done! Unfortunately, the English speaking OB/GYN is not available on the days I can come to the hospital, so I switched to a non-English speaking ob/gyn for my next appointment. Please think carefully before doing this, as I needed to rely on my husband to translate for every appointment.

MIDWIFE

After the initial appointment, we had to talk to a mid-wife. We signed a paper giving them permission to share information with the ward office, and we were also asked to fill out and discuss an assessment. This assessment does get kind of personal, "Have you ever been depressed?", "Have you ever tried to commit suicide?", and I think the mid-wife does give points, so be forewarned. Of course, be as honest as you can, as the safety of you and the baby are at the forefront.

HOSPITAL CLASSES

After the interview, we were given a textbook that corresponds with their hospital classes. We were asked to attend two hospital provided maternity classes, but unfortunately, due to Covid-19, both of them were cancelled.

BILLING

At the end of the appointment, make sure to retrieve your mother-child handbook and vouchers, and head to billing.

GOVERNMENT LUMP SUM PAYMENT

During this appointment, it is also recommended that you ask the hospital reception about the lump sum payment form. I will go into more detail about it in another post, but you will need to sign a form and "hanko" it.

SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS

The next few appointments followed the same hospital flow. I received the results of my blood test and cervical cancer screening results during my 15th week appointment. All was well, except I seemed to have lost my immunity to rubella. And on my 20 week appointment, I had my cervix checked to see if it was dilated at all, and usually you can find out the gender of the baby during this appointment, but unfortunately, we couldn't see anything. I also received information concerning a glucose test for my 25th week appointment.


Therefore, for appointments week 11-20, you can expect these things:

• urinalysis
• weight/blood pressure check
• blood draw
• cervical cancer screening/pap smear
• intrauterine ultrasound in 1st trimester, external for all others
• Talk with the mid-wife to discuss any questions, worries, and concerns

Please stay tuned for my week 25~ and up appointment blogs coming soon!