Last Friday was my last official prenatal appointment before my C Section. I'm getting pretty excited, and only a little nervous. So far my experiences with prenatal care in Japan have been good. The main difference I've noticed between my experiences here and back home in the US is that the prenatal appointments here have been generally longer and with more tests and procedures (like having an ultrasound every time, getting an ECG, having my cervix checked more frequently, and also giving a urine sample at every visit, for example). My Dr has been very nice though, and I've really liked all the nurses. I hope the nurses upstairs in the birthing part of the hospital are as good as the ones in the prenatal department.
For my last visit I had another ultrasound (last one I hope!) and this time I also had to lay down and wear a fetal monitor for half an hour (which wasn't very comfortable since I had to lay on my back :P). The nurse checked the baby's heart rate and checked to see if I was having any contractions. I had two little ones and one bigger one (probably a Braxton Hicks contraction, not a true labor contraction). I ended the appointment with a consultation with the nurse. I didn't see the surgeon except for the brief time he was with me doing the ultrasound. While I was with the nurse I tried to think of any last minute questions I wanted answered before checking into the hospital on Monday. I asked if I could bring my own snacks (yes), if Braden could bring me dinner on Thursday so that I could eat something that at least resembles Thanksgiving (she said she didn't know but she would ask, and told me to ask again when I check in), and I asked about breastfeeding, and circumcision. She said that typically the moms rest the first day or two and don't start breastfeeding until the second day, which surprised me. I told her that I had started breastfeeding Clara right away, even though she was a C Section too, and I said I wanted to start breastfeeding my son right away too. She said that she thought it would be okay and made a note of it in my file. The last question about circumcision, I didn't know the Japanese word for it and couldn't describe it very well, and she seemed to have no idea what it was (I had previously read that it is very uncommon in Japan) but she said she would ask the Dr about it. I actually got a call today from the midwife to answer the questions I had asked the nurse. She said that Braden could bring me dinner on Thursday as long as it was a light, easy to digest type of meal. I told her it would be chicken (no turkey in Japan unfortunately), potatoes, corn, bread, cranberries, and stuff like that, and she said she thought it would be okay. She reiterated what the nurse had said about breastfeeding, that moms typically rest the first day, but she said she would advocate my desire to start breastfeeding sooner. She did know what circumcision was (even based on my poor Japanese explanation of it to the nurse) and said that they don't do it at Kaseki Hospital (No surprise, really) and apologized too (I told her it was fine). Anywho, I thought it was very nice of the midwife to call me personally to answer my questions. She said that she would not be on duty the day I have my C Section, but that she would see me some time after (She, along with the Dr, are the only ones at Kaseki Hospital that speak English, that I know of).
Well, that's all I can think of to write this time around. I'll have lots to write about in the coming days though, so stay tuned!
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