I may have a Caeserean Sec again becoz of my previous Caeserean Section. Well I am really scared and would like to hear from ladies who have had Caeserean Section In Tokyo. My Japanese is very limited hence I am looking for English speaking doctors.
I want my pregnancy to be as natural as possible with not too many interventions. A friend mentioned that in pregnancy visits trans vaginal ultrasound is routinely used in Japan. I would like to have doppler or other minimal intervention, not to mention the chances of infection with trans vaginal exams. How can I locate a good and open doctor?

I never had a trans-vaginal ultrasound during my pregnancy. They were all from the outside. The first time I had a trans-vaginal utrasound was during a comprehensive examination to find the source of severe abdominal pain. I would start by looking under the heading of Doctors: Gynecologists/Obstetricians.
http://www.tokyowithkids.com/discussions/messages/35/353.html

Mama,
I had several vaginal ultrasound during my pregnancy from beguining until the end and I had no problem associated with this practice. As far as infection is concerned the doctors normaly use a condom on the probe and it is not more dangerous than you Ob-Gyn hands!

I was followed by Dr Sakamoto from Tokyo Clinic (near Tokyo Tower), he speaks fluent English and I think he has been trained in the US.
good luck in your search,
Anne

kurz,Thankyou so much for the info.. indeed it is releif to know that the anasthesia procedure during episiotomy is not that painful. But i guess later once the effect of anasthesia goes off, it hurts and also at the time of removing the stiches.. please correct me if i am wrong.

Actually I have a short stature of 143cm and recently found out that women with short stature have problem during normal vaginal delivery as their birth canal is too narrow and baby gets stuck often which leads to emergency C-section most of the time. At the same time I really want to deliver normally.. I am thinking of asking my doctor to measure my birth canal.. though I am not sure if there is any procedure to do so. Anyone familiar with this kind of issue? Thankyou so much.

From what I've read, the narrowness of the birth canal is more relative to size of pelvis rather than to height. There is one study in Bangladesh where what is referred to as a bony birth canal (in undernourished teenagers) leads to big problems. But a mature woman who has not suffered any severe malnutrition during her life should not in fact have this kind of problem.

There's a ton of information on the internet about giving birth. For example: http://www.gynob.com/fh.htm

The person to ask this sort of question of is your doctor. Japan has loads of "short" women. And c-sections here are rare compared to in the USA. My guess is that you are hearing a scary and untrue story.

Dhela,

the female body is an incredible thing. When it comes to childbirth, we are designed to expand and contract in ways that seem impossible. I would encourage you to read Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Natural Childbirth if you want to read more about what the body is really designed to do. You can order it on amazon.jp

I have heard countless stories of women who were told by their doctors they needed c-sections for their heavy or large-headed babies. At the advice of the doctor, had c-sections. Then these women went on to vaginally deliver much larger 2nd or 3rd babies, proving that the doctor was wrong in the first place. Their bodies were designed perfectly to give birth to the size baby that they could grow.

Most bodies are perfectly designed to give birth to the types of babies their bodies can grow. Have faith in your body. Do a lot of reading. Talk to your doctor and get 2nd opinions if you are not happy with the answers you get. You may also want to consult an independent midwife and discuss this.

THis is the article that i had read earlier , really bothers me about the relationship between short stature women and CS :

http://images.katalogas.lt/maleidykla/Act71/ActaMed14_001-006.pdf

I need to ask my doctor about my pelvic area/ birth canal size, again I thinkl it may change during the course of my pregnancy? i am not sure though. I am 31 weeks preg right now. Thanks

Hi Dhela,
I read the article. Thank you for the link. I understand the incidence of C-section in Austria is well below that in the USA, which leads me to believe that they are far less likely to do unecessary C-sections.

I think you do have a valid reason for worry. I still think that pelvis width is the measurement that would be most relative, but since I am not a doctor, you really need to ask a doctor.

I would print the article and give it to the doctor. A lot of doctors here who can not speak English very well, can in fact read English quite well. It could be a good way to introduce the topic, too, since it comes from a reputable and legitimate source.

Also, you might get some data from the circumstances surrounding another female in your family of similar stature who has had a baby.

In any event, you may wish to use a big hospital that actually has the facilities to do a c-section, just in case. 17% seems like a high enough percentage to take that precaution. You are definitely doing the right thing to research all of this well in advance, and not wait until the last minute!