Hi.
I'm 16 weeks pregnant and suddenly have a huge interest in all things "baby"!

At the moment I'm trying to find a hospital where I can have the option of an epidural. I know the main options, I think:

Aiiku
Dr Sakamoto (at Tokyo Med.Clinic)
Tokyo Adventist Hospital (Eisei)


Since I live in Nerima, the first two are kind of far (and I've heard Dr Sakamoto is very expensive), but I'm not sure what the Adventist Hosp. is like. Has anyone had any recent experiences there? Do they speak much English? Would you recommend it?

Thank you.
Tina

Dear Tina,
I gave birth to a healthy baby boy at the
Eisei Hospital two years ago. I am
Japanese, so language was not a problem,
but there was another Swedish lady there
who did not speak a lot of Japanese but
seemed to do alright although I had an
epidural, and she didn't.
I would definately recommend it because
for one thing the female doctor who
oversaw my pregnancy followed my wishes
of avoiding an episiotomy.
I did have a bit of shock at the beginning
when I transferred from the Sanno
Hospital in Aoyama to the Tokyo Adventist
because of the difference in the level of
personal attention. (I work in Aoyama so
Sanno Hospital was a logical choice until
the last few months before the baby was
due when I changed to Tokyo Adventist as
I live in Nerima ward. ) Sanno Hospital felt
more exclusive and luxurious with nurses
checking my weight and blood pressure,
whilst at Eisei it was more DIY with
pregnant mothers expected to get read
outs using the equipment in the waiting
room themselves and bring them into the
check up.There was never a long queue at
Sanno, whereas waiting for about an hour
before being seen(even with an
appointment) was par for the course at
Eisei, and I personally felt the doctor at
Sanno was more attentive and she had
more time for me.
However, personally, the costs and locality
over-ride the level of personal attention,
and I don't regret having my (first) baby
there at all. I chose the hospital mainly
because I knew I wanted an epidural and I
wanted to be near home. And it was nice
not to have to travel too far for the
checkups which became weekly nearer to
the due date.
Other considerations are that at the time,
there was no option to have the newborn
in the same room - us new mothers used
to go several times a day to the baby room
to breastfeed. Some hospitals put you
together with your baby straight away.
I enjoyed being able to sleep
uninterrupted as I was exhausted after the
delivery. Also the food was vegetarian.
If you still want more information about
how it was like for the Swedish lady, let
me know as we are still very much in close
contact although she is no longer in Japan.
Good luck!