Traditional Health Beliefs: Japanese: Pregnancy & childbirth

Japanese Traditions Japanese woman2

During pregnancy, labor & delivery, and the postpartum period

This information is not to replace medical care but is intended to enhance cultural awareness. We do not endorse any of the following customs or practices. If you are pregnant, please seek medical attention from a health care provider. The following information was gathered from personal interviews with women of Japanese descent living in Hawaii.

During pregnancy......

Foods encouraged:	Foods prohibited:
Women should eat lots of soybeans, fish (especially sardines), mochi (to increase lactation), rice, ume, and lots of vegetables.	Women were not allowed to eat any seafood with claws such as crabs or lobsters. This was believed to cause the child to become a thief. They were also discouraged from eating squid or persimmons (it was believed to make the uterus "cold" which could lead to miscarriage).

Activities:

Pregnant women were discouraged from sitting with their legs crossed, believing that it could lead to suffocation of the baby.
During the the first three months they are encouraged to stay fairly still. After three months they are to stay constantly active (cleaning the house and yard) to ensure an easier birth.
Pregnant women are not to take big steps when they walk because it shows a sign of laziness.
It is believed that if pregnant women look at fire, their baby will be born with a birthmark.
Pregnant women are discouraged from attending funerals because it is believed that the spirit of the dead will come to take the baby"s spirit. If they must attend, they are required to wear black and only black.
Pregnant women should clean their toilet daily for a healthy and good looking baby.
Pregnant women are discouraged from gaining too little or too much weight.

Rituals:

During the 5th month of pregnancy the family will go to the shrine to ask for a safe birth called an "annzan". It is a little ceremony where they pray and the priest presents the woman with a sash that is white with a picture of a dog on it. The dog represents an easy and safe birth. The sash is about 1 foot wide and 6.5 feet long, and is wrapped under the belly for support.

Misc.:

It is believed that if the mother has a nice complexion, she would have a boy, and if not, she would have a girl.
It is considered shameful if the pregnant woman is unwed.
If a miscarriage occurs it is believed that future pregnancies will also end in miscarriages.

During labor and delivery......

It is now common practice for the pregnant woman to have only their significant other present.

Previously, it was customary to have only the doctor and nurse present.

Some women choose to have a "Doula" coach. "Doula" is a program designed to help the woman deal with labor pains by using alternative measures such as foot massage, music, or walking and recommends no pain medication.

It is considered inappropriate to yell out during labor as this brings shame to their family. Grunting is encouraged rather than screaming and yelling.
Vaginal deliveries are preferred without pain medication or an episiotomy (surgical incision made to prevent tearing of the vagina).

A normal vaginal delivery would require a weeks stay in the hospital, whereas a c-section would require a two week stay.

In Japan, there are commonly 3 to 6 patients in each post-partum room. During the day the newborns are kept with their mothers, but at night they are kept in a separate nursery, so the mothers can rest.
In many Western hospitals, it is now common to have mothers and babies stay together in the same room.

During postpartum....... Japanese fan

It is common practice to save the umbilical cord in a wooden box.
The mother is not to wash her hair for 1 week because it is not good to flex her neck.
In Japan, the new mom usually goes to her parents home for about 20-30 days. The grandmother will perform all household duties, because the new mom is not allowed to touch water for washing dishes or doing laundry. She is also not allowed to drive anywhere. After that time period, the postpartum mom returns home to her husband with their baby.
Between 30 and 32 days, the family will then return to the shrine to pray, pay respect, and to offer thanks for a safe delivery and healthy child. The ceremony is called "omiya maeiri".
In Japan, the babies are frequently named after their grandparents.
An ideal family would be made up of a married couple with 2 children. If a couple were to have 3 or more children, they are thought to be wealthy.

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Updated October 6, 2005