Birth Stories of Japan

In this episode we speak to Laura about her first birth experience in Japan which she's using as a bit of a 'baseline' for her second baby's arrival later in the year.  Although it took her sometime to really process the experience, she does say that it was a positive natural birth. Being new to the country (Sanda, Hyōgo) her pregnancy was quite lonely and she did experience some p...

In this episode we speak with @suzukibears a mother of two originally from Toronto, Canada. After a positive birth experience at Sapporo Maternity Women’s Hospital in 2020 (during the pandemic) she heard about Ekubo Midwifery during her 2nd pregnancy and decided to have a home birth there in 2023 for another positive birth experience. She shares the unique experience of tasting their 2nd baby’s pl...

In this episode we speak to Gabi who walks us through her pregnancy and birth journey with daughter Satsuki.  Satsuki was born prematurely in Tokyo during the pandemic which meant a solo labour for Gabi and then having to deal with the hospital's policies around NICU visits, limiting her abilities to be next to her daughter for the first two weeks. She also found out about a liver issue during her...

On this episode we speak to Nina who has 3 birth stories at 3 different clinics for us to listen to and compare.  At each birth she felt more and more empowered and although the journey was never 'perfect' and postpartum recoveries were hard with her husband having no paternity leave, there was always a positive outcome. She talks about navigating cultural differences, advocating and negotiating f...

On this episode we speak to Eriko Lalanne a Japanese midwife based in Tokyo (e_tokyomidwife & josanshi_english). I've taken some of our followers most asked questions and thrown them her way: • Where can we give birth in Japan? • How can we say no? • Why are epidurals so expensive? • What happens if I don’t want to weigh myself at every appointment? …The list goes on! We discuss the standards of J...

On this episode we speak to Sorina whose passion for foreign languages led her to Japan where she'd meet her husband and give birth to baby Luca.  Although she initially hoped to have a natural birth, Hashimoto's disease and her low platelet count deemed her as 'high-risk' which resulted in being induced & then ultimately a C-section. She talks about having to accept her modifi...

On this episode we speak to Sheila who is from Central America and moved to Japan 7 years ago with her husband (Japanese-Hondureños).  An online prenatal course helped her decide on her birth plan, however when it came to delivery time both her and her hospital were happy to make changes. Care facilities: + Yamaguchi Womens Hospital, Funabashi -------------------------------------------------  Sho...

In this episode we speak with Hikari who is Japanese with an English husband.  She talks about the pressures that she felt within her own culture around pregnancy + body image and the relief she felt being able to speak to her foreigner friends about it. Birth facility: + Aiiku Hospital, Tokyo -------------------------------------------------  Show notes: Questions around being able to conceive, h...

In this episode we speak with Aubree who moved to Japan with her husband from the USA and has since had two babies here.  Due to her positive experience the first time round, both of her babies were born homebirth style at Kishimoto Midwifery in Osaka.  Stone and Lila are very close in age and mama Aubree says that having family over during those early stages really helped her recover and not feel...

On this episode we speak to Alex @alexleefilms who is from Malaysia and gave birth to her beautiful baby girl in May of 2023 in Japan. She went through labour on her own until the very end when her husband was finally allowed to join, but says that the long labour was very much worth it. Birth care facilities: + Teikkyo University Hospital ------------------------------------------------- Show not...

On this latest episode we speak with Cheska, originally from London, who speaks about her experience giving birth to her twins in Tokyo. Being a multiple pregnancy, she was told throughout her entire journey that it was a high-risk pregnancy.  Because of this, sometimes 'medical experience' trumped her voice, which caused some stress.  With COVID restrictions still in place it wasn't until her hus...

***TRIGGER WARNING*** CAOS, voluntary termination of pregnancy, baby loss & grief. To skip, please fast-forward over baby #2 (timecode 18:27 - 34:54) On this latest episode we speak with Juanita who shares her many highs and lows on her pregnancy/birth journey. She is categorised as 'advanced maternal age', being 35 for her first baby & 41 for her last. Due to a rare condition call...

On this latest episode of Birth Stories of Japan we speak with Robin who moved from Holland to Japan half-way through her pregnancy. She had a premature rupture of her membranes (PROM) at 34 weeks and was hospitalised for a further 2 weeks until being induced and says that she just 'surrendered' to it all. Although what was happening was traumatic for her, she rates her care here in Japan very hig...

On this latest episode of Birth Stories of Japan we speak with Kate who gave birth in Okayama to her beautiful baby boy Fynn. Originally from New Zealand, she talks about how the borders being shut during the COVID-19 pandemic and not having her mum by her side really messed with her expectations of what her first birth story would be like. It was a tough and lonely journey, but with the support o...

On this latest episode we speak with Lily who is a Malaysian mama of one living in Japan with her Romanian husband.  Her PCOS had quite an effect on her ability to get pregnant, however with the help of the doctors here she was able to conceive.  Although she had quite a list of interventions during her labour (including an episiotomy and fundal pressure) she overall describes her son's birth...

In this latest episode Elle offers us her refreshing and positive outlook on C-sections.  She had 3 x C-sections in Osaka and believes that they were truly the best decision for her and her family. Her story is one of positivity & strength. Thank you so much Elle for sharing your story xx  Birthcare facility: + Osaka University Hospital, ------------------------------------------------- Show n...

Mama Brooke is a first-time mum and shares her journey through pregnancy and birth with little cutie Iroha. So far from what she thought to expect, she battled both physically and mentally during her pregnancy. She is currently 6 months postpartum and tells her honest truth - that sometimes it doesn't "just get better". With the support of those around her she's been able to find...

Originally from Australia, Laura, mama of 3, shares how all of her labours in Japan were faster than she could've expected. With her first, she had preterm labour contractions so was monitored regularly and given medications to put things on hold, but for her second, nothing could stop her son from being born premature. The traumatic experience was soon eased by the "top notch" care...

Ariana takes us through the ups and downs of her pregnancy and birth journey's here in Japan. Her first experiece started off on an uneasy note, which she feels "set the tone" for her daughter's birth. After a traumatic birth experience and dealing with postpartum depression, Ariana and her husband were ready to do things differently with baby number two. Unfortunately they lost...

Our first birth story is that of your host's. During Tiana's pregnancy with her very first baby she endured the symptoms and struggles of Topical Steroid Withdrawal & consequently also withdrew from the world. She turned to Podcasts to help get her through which sparked the idea for Birth Stories of Japan podcast. Their baby girl Mellow was born naturally after 38hrs, home-birth style...

Giving birth in Japan was honestly something that I never thought would be a part of my journey, but here we are :) This podcast about being pregnant and giving birth in Japan, particularly as a foreigner or partly foreigner couple, where each episode we’ll have one mum on the show to share their story.  Every episode is super unique, because each pregnancy & birth is so unique. Resources and info...