Giving Birth in a Foreign Country

So, we knew we were in for the ride of our lives when we first visited the OB here in Japan. We were prepared (I think) for the road ahead and knew that we would just need to roll with the punches and keep an upbeat and positive attitude. Overall, I would say that our experience went well. A few things I wanted to share and record....in Japan epidurals are the exception and not the rule. All of my other births I have had an epidural. I chose not to with this one. The OB is the one to give the epidural...not an anesthesiologist and that made me nervous. In preparation for our first natural birth, I bought two books, one for Bryce as my coach and one for me and him to prepare us for what was to come. It was an experience and several have asked for the story so here goes....(a warning: If you are sick of hearing people's birthing stories....skip this post and go to the next) :0)

Wednesday, Sept. 28, I got up and sent the kids to school and headed to my OB appointment. This was my first non-stress test, as well. I started with the non-stress test and after they finished, the Mid-Wife came in to talk to me about several birth related questions. Mainly we discussed the type of delivery I hoped for, whether we wanted the baby to be breast fed or bottle fed, etc. The oddest and most uncomfortable part for me was when she needed to "check to see if I was able to breast feed properly". Nevermind that I had already nursed 3 children before this one. I will put it this way, if a nurse in the US grabbed a person to "check" the way she did, they would have been either sued or ended up with a black eye. I was a little taken aback by it but heard that it could happen. After that, I headed for my appt. with my OB. I was terribly disappointed to find out I was only at a 1 and the baby's head was still high. I realized then and there that this baby was not going to come early (this was a week before my due date) even though the three other kids did. I went home and went about my normal daily activities.

That night, I fell asleep on the couch while Bryce was having his nightly meetings via phone with the U.S. At 11:30pm he woke me up to go to bed and I had a contraction. This one HURT! We went to bed and I didn't feel anything more until 20 minutes later. They continued coming every 20 minutes and Bryce was trying to comfort me but honestly, I knew he needed sleep and I was doing better on my own when I wasn't having to worry about the fact that he wasn't getting any rest. I left the bed and headed downstairs to read and time the contractions.

Around 2am, I realized that this baby was probably going to be coming that day so I got the kids lunches packed, had everything ready by the front door, wrote a letter to our friend that was coming should it happen in the middle of the night and made a few other preparations. At 3:30, I took a shower....no one wants to give birth while feeling stinky :0) That apparently signaled my body that it was time to get things moving because my contractions went from every 10-15 minutes to every 7 minutes. The doctor had wanted us to come to the hospital when the contractions were 10-15 minutes apart because we had to travel 45 minutes by car. I woke Bryce at 4am and told him that we probably had another hour and then we would need to leave. He timed the next three and they were 5 minutes apart. He said, "We are leaving. I will call Rachel." I didn't want to go...I wanted to wait another hour at home. The labor room is just a room with four beds in it with curtains separating each bed. I did not want to labor with other women in the room. Bryce insisted we leave though so when Rachel got to our house at 4:30am, we immediately left.

We pulled in to the parking lot at 5:15 and the doctors were out there waiting for me. The contractions were now very painful and only 3 minutes apart. The hospital is closed after a certain time each evening so the doctors come in and open the doors for any patient that goes in to labor. We got upstairs and they had me get changed and use the bathroom. They kept trying to send Bryce to the lobby but I wouldn't let him go and after him being present for all three other births, there ain't nothing he hasn't seen! Finally, I was settled and in a bed by about 5:30. They checked me and said I was at a 6! Woo-hoo! After one more contraction, I was at an 8. The doctor had me push and said I was ready. They took the bed I was in and wheeled me to the delivery room. At this point, I was having contractions pretty intensely and they were on top of one another. Bryce was trying to talk me through them but honestly, I was having a hard time focusing on anything anyone was saying. The books that we read were no such help whatsoever...things happened so fast, I didn't have time to 'breathe, relax, etc.'. We get in to the room and the doctor says, "Ok, now get into this bed." I am thinking he is freaking crazy. I didn't know which end was up let alone being able to actually GET up and move to another bed. Move I did, though, and then a nurse came and started prepping my arm for an IV. While she is doing this, the doctor is having me push. Now, I am sorry but have you ever tried pushing a baby out while getting an IV poked in your arm? The doctor then told us we just had 2-3 mo

re pushes and he would be out. I just remember thinking, "Isn't it a bit late to be putting the IV in right now?" But put the IV in, they did. And he was out with the next push at 6:02am. They did allow Bryce to cut the umbilical cord (it was in a knot which we weren't aware of!) and for me to hold him on my chest and nurse him right away. After that, they took him and semi-cleaned him up, weighed him (4000 grams or 8lbs 8oz.), measured him (52 cm or 20.5 inches). The hats that they had for the Japanese babies would not stay on his head. He was also bigger than any other baby there by 2lbs! He had THE darkest hair and we could tell from the first moment that he would have brown eyes like his daddy and siblings. Needless to say, with as quickly as he was born from the time we arrived to the hospital and the time he was out, for once in our marriage, I am very relieved my husband did NOT listen to me and instead insisted that we leave when we did. Otherwise, instead of being born at Kobe Adventist Hospital, his birthplace would have been a Gold Toyota Estima van on Highway 7.

After that, the doctor said that I only had to stay for two days which Bryce and I were thrilled about. We were taken back to the labor room for observation and they took the baby for a short time to take more measurements, etc. It was during this time that they gave him a bottle unbeknownst to us. I was pretty upset about it but not much we could do at that point. In Japan, they get very concerned about the normal weight loss that a baby has in the hospital. They also worry about the mother getting enough rest and would rather the baby be kept in the nursery for most of the time. Those of you that know me well, know that I don't play that game so thankfully, I was able to have a private room and the only time he left my side was to be weighed and measured each day. Bryce was able to stay with me thanks to our neighbors/friends that took our kids.

Some of the things that I wasn't expecting/aware/or used to: The bed was hard as a rock...LITERALLY. The pillow had beads in it which made it extremely heavy and hard, as well. My back and bum hurt to no end after we left the hospital. I don't know how any woman would be able to stay for the 7 days they make you stay if you are not me :0) The food was another difficult issue. It was Japanese vegetarian. I like some Japanese but not most of it...add the fact that it was vegetarian and I am a total carnivore and there are definitely going to be issues. The amount that they brought was also the amount that my 5 year old eats. Thankfully, I wasn't very hungry otherwise, I probably would have starved. Thankfully, Bryce brought me food from home each time he went back and forth. For that, I was so grateful. The nurses don't always choose the best time to do things. Examples: One night at 2:30am they came in to make Cade drink a bottle with Vitamin K in it (in the US, babies are given a shot). It took him 45 minutes to drink less than an ounce because he wanted nothing to do with it. Then, two hours later (after he was finally back asleep and peaceful) they came back in to put eye drops in his eyes...seriously?? Could that not have waited until morning? They also did not want our children to come in to see the baby at all. They said that if our kids came in and infected him with something and then he infected the other babies in the nursery, it would be a problem. I said that our baby didn't need to go to the nursery for any reason and it would be a bigger problem if our kids didn't see the baby. They saw that I was not giving in so we came to an agreement that the kids would come on Friday evening and then Cade and I would go home Saturday morning. We are glad things worked out!

Overall though, the staff was more than helpful, my two English speaking doctors were fabulous. It is unnerving to not be able to speak to the nurses and ask questions but thankfully I have been through this before so I knew what to expect. We were glad to get home and be with the kids and our new baby and for Bryce and I to sleep in our own bed!