Pregnant in Japan without Japanese Insurance

I didn't have any idea of where I was going to give birth or seek prenatal care when I left America. I am also not in a place where I could go back to America to have the baby and be able to return to Japan, so if I was going to have the baby State side I would have to stay there with all my children, leaving my husband in Japan for the remainder of his business trip. So we decided to give birth here in Japan. I thought that "I can figure it out when I get there". Which you can, but its a hard, since most people don't speak English. Its going to be hard even if you do research before you come, even more so if your not going to qualify for Japanese Health Insurance (which is the case for us since we are on a visitor's visa).

But, if you think about it before hand, here are some things you should do before you arrive:

1. Get your medical history from your doctor. They will print it out for you if you explain you are going overseas.
2. If you have insurance in the States or somewhere else, CALL them and check their website to see if you are covered outside of your home country.  I am and I was able to call them from my phone here in Japan, but it would have been better to have called them the same time I call the bank to inform them of our trip. I was also able to look up a hospital that was a preferred provider. Its a big hospital and has lots of space and they are able to take me on in my late stage of pregnancy. Most smaller hospital and clinics are booked, since most Japanese women reserve a spot within 10 weeks of pregnancy.
3. Check the consulate's website for all the documents you will need to get your baby's passport and SS card. One random document you need to bring (that I happened to have randomly brought) is your marriage certificate. This list doesn't contain the things you might want to bring like maternity clothes or clothes for your newborn, just paperwork stuffs.

I would have rather been at a smaller clinic, but they don't speak English and are not interested in taking someone on who they don't know the history of, doesn't have Japanese insurance, and doesn't speak Japanese. I did go to a smaller clinic and they said that they would see me for prenatal visits but I couldn't birth there.

I don't speak Japanese, so I looked up the website of the hospital that I found on my insurance's website to get as much information on how to get there, what to do when I get there, etc. I felt lucky that they had a lady at the information counter who could speak English. I also wasn't able to make an appointment, which you don't need when going to a bigger hospital, you just have to arrive between 8:30 and noon. You can still be in the waiting room after noon, they just don't take new people after that time.

When you get to the hospital, first thing is the information counter where they will give you the "about you" paper (I don't have a good name for it). That paper they give you at all doctor appointments when your their for the first time. It asks about your DOB, how tall you are, etc. Fill it out, give it back, and then you wait. They are going to give you a paper in Japanese with a number on it and they will give you your "ID" card. You keep your card, its like a credit card that you use to get you paper in Japanese with the number on it for all you subsequent visits.

Then its upstairs to where ever the OBGYN area is in the hospital you chose, mine is on the 3rd floor. There you have to go to another counter and give them the paper in Japanese with the number on it. They give you another paper to fill out. This one has questions related to your OB history. You fill it out and give it back, then walk down the corridor to the OB waiting area and wait. It can take up to 3 hours for them to see you. I think it can take longer for foreigners who don't speak Japanese, since you would have to wait for the person who speaks the most English. I was seen after about an hour by a student (the hospital I am at is a university hospital and has lots of students there) and he talked to me, mostly to inform me that I had to go to the 2nd floor and give a urine sample and then had to come back up and take my own blood pressure and weight.

Down to the 2nd floor. I gave the lady at the "labs" counter my paper in Japanese with the number on it and then had to wait for her to input my info into the computer so that the machine would print my info on my sample cup. It took about 20 minutes for her to do this, because she was interrupted by all the other people coming to get their lab work done (They only had one gal to scan papers and hand out numbers for the people who were giving blood or urine). So I finally get my cup, do my thing, and its back up to the 3rd floor. Where I take my blood pressure and weigh myself, and then wait some more.

When I finally see a doctor he takes an ultra sound and we talk about stuff and schedule an appointment in two weeks. Then I am handed off to a nurse who explains what to do for the next visit, where to get the paper to write down my weight and blood pressure, gives me a vial with a lid for the "morning urine" I am to bring from home, and that I should go to the 2nd floor to give a urine sample before I come up to the 3rd floor.
Then I have to go back to the 2nd floor and they take blood. I am then free to pay for my visit and leave.

My insurance should cover most of the costs but I will be sending in my claims myself, paying for the service up front and then be reimbursed by the insurance company (hopefully).

They also do a ton more ultra sounds and keep tabs on your weight and how big your baby is. If you baby gets to be under weight then you are likely going to have to stay at the hospital for an extra half hour while they have you strapped to a fetal heart monitor. If you don't speak Japanese you are likely going to have to wait longer until someone who speaks English can help you.

So, basically, if you planning on birthing in Japan, there is going to be lots of waiting.