A question for "Cyn" and others if you can help?

Question

Hey! I am currently 8 wks. pregnant and living in LA right now. I have a good friend in Japan who has invited me to stay with her throughtout the pregnancy and I am seriously considering it. My boyfriend is in China right now (that's where we met). You may be wondering why I don't go to China, but I've lived there and I feel that my time was up there. I love my boyfriend but this would also give me an opportunity to see Japan. I would also be closer to my boyfriend by being in Japan as opposed to LA. What do you think about the healthcare in Japan? Do you think this is a smart move? Honesty is appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

☆Congratulations! Good luck to you Kim☆
♡The FIRST thing you have to consider is HOW you're going to be able to stay in Japan for the duration of your pregnancy. You are two months along now, that leaves 7 months. BUT! ★You may only visit Japan as a tourist (being American) for 90 days or less. Look here:
List of Countries and Regions That Have Visa Exemption Arrangements with Japan
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/...
UNLESS you have a specific visa. Do you? It's kind of your friend to invite you, BUT ★you just can't 'move here'. Take a look at the MOFA site for visa info:
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/...
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/...
～AND! Once you get here, ★will you be able to GET health care insurance?? Also, will you be able to support yourself during this time? Many things to consider Kim... Difficult.
-Coincidentally, I just returned from Beijing. Although I enjoy traveling there, I PREFER to live in Japan. (I even choose to live in Japan- for now- over the US.) It's easier for me to live in the community here, use public transport, understand the customs...than when I go to China. That's just MY opinion though and my hubby is Japanese so I have his daily support.
-About health care in Japan? It great! I've been VERY happy with the system. BUT, in the begining, I occasionally had a problem explaining my condition or symptoms to the medical proffesional during any visits. ★Will you able to communicate well? You have to keep in mind that they are Japanese and speak Japanese. *Medical (and Legal) Japanese terminology are difficult (for ME as an American) to understand at times. ★The medical techniques/opinions here in Japan my be different from those in the US as well. Things are sometimes done differently in different countries. Ex. delivery procedures...
～☆In my honest opinion I would suggest you stay close to home where you can fully communicate your needs with your doctor and have the loving support of your family and friends near by at such an important time in your life.
These are just my thoughts though, you have to do what's BEST FOR YOU and your baby!
～♡PLEASE DO visit Japan though someday Kim. I think you'll be glad you did and I hope you'll love it as much as I do!　(I'm assuming you're American, right?)

I'm on the train now, so I'll come back and edit this later. But I wish you the best of luck Kim.
I'm sure you'll get lots of good advice from all the kind people here in the Japan cat.♡

Answer 2

As a woman who has been pregnant and given birth in Japan I have to say I agree totally with the two previous excellent answers.

The healthcare in Japan is of course good and the chances of death in childbirth are the lowest in the world....so I guess they are doing a lot of things right.

However there are a lot of cultural differences in the way they do things which can be very stressful....and even though I speak good Japanese I know it would have been a lot different if I could speak in my own language. (I went to a major hospital which is supposed to be able to deal with English speakers btw)

I am not sure how the healthcare system is in China....but I imagine there are a number of the same or similar cultural issues during pregnancy.....

Answer 3

Congratulations. Cyn already gave an extensive answer, but let me add just a thought. I am an American living in Japan married to a Japanese. We have two kids. Through both pregnancies, I was jumping up and down because what the Japanese Docs were saying was totally different from what I had learned about pregnancy in the US (school, sisters, etc.) Japan definitely has a very different way of doing things. If you are willing to sit back and accept what they say, go for it. I know a couple that actually did what you are thinking of to do. They came to Japan to have a baby, but they couldn't handle the differences. They went back to the states after the 3rd trimester. The women was a dietitian and what the docs were telling her, to her, was just totally wrong. And she found out the hard way that Japanese docs DON'T like being told that they are wrong.

The health care insurance is the best in the world in my opinion. For my two kids, one was a C-section, I paid less than 1/10 that they do in the US. JUST WONDERFUL!

Good luck to you.

If you would like to know more about my experience or about that of my friends, feel free to message me.