As a foreign woman in Tokyo, I found it quite daunting trying to decide where to give birth. There are essentially two options, highly expensive private hospitals - which offer the option of an epidural and then public hospitals where giving birth ala natural is -primarily- the only option. (Elective C-sections in Japan are like unicorns!)
Here is a very basic breakdown between the two options:
Public Institutions:
*3-5 night stay for natural birth
*Epidural not always available and if it is, it will be scheduled between working hours (8AM-5PM). At an additional cost of about ¥200000.
*Shared ward
*Around ¥100000-¥200000 out of pocket after the government grant of ¥420000 (if you’re on the National Health Insurance)
Private Institutions:
*3-5 night stay for natural birth
*Sometimes epidural is available. Depending on the institution it might be scheduled between working hours (8AM-5PM) but might be offered 24/7. At an additional cost of about ¥200000.
*Option of private room - at additional costs which vary.
*English speaking doctors are more common.
*More Flexibility and inter-cultural/international understanding
*Around ¥800000 out of pocket after the government grant of ¥420000 (if you’re on the National Health Insurance)
I hadn’t had a picture-perfect pregnancy; severe all-day sickness for weeks, high markers for Down Syndrome, double amniocentesis, jaw pain, hip pain, edema, stretch marks and all of this in the peak of 30 degree plus and 80% humidity temperature! So I felt like the least I could do was to try and enjoy my birthing experience - if that’s even possible. So when it came down to my decision there were a few non-negotiables that I wanted:
24/7 Epidural
Private room
English speaking doctor
Accepts a birth plan
These criteria narrowed down my search considerably and increased the amount I would I have to pay out of pocket drastically. Now don’t get me wrong, any woman who decides to give birth without epidural is like a superhero in my books. Actually, any woman who has the ability to give birth is blessed, but if you have felt a contraction you know where I’m coming from!
As soon as I fell pregnant, I reached out to my community on social media (Tokyo Mothers Group and Tokyo Pregnancy Group) for their recommendations and majority of the foreign women here all vouched for Aiiku Hospital and to see the infamous Dr Sakamoto or the more natural-approached Dr Sen at Aiiku Clinic. (Back-story, the Japanese royal family give birth at this hospital so you can imagine the status - and cost - that comes with birthing here.) It was if the stars had aligned as Dr Sakamoto was my gynecologist so it was natural for me to want to birth with him.
Fast forward to 26 weeks pregnant and having received the estimated costs of about 2 million yen in total (including amniocentesis cost) and being pushed to make my deposit and booking at Aiiku, I decided to look for other options as this would almost bankrupt us. Private/International insurance companies usually pay about ¥800000 towards the birth, as opposed to the ¥420000 National Health contributes, which would have still left us with a considerable amount to pay.
After some discussion with my husband and family we decided that I should look into other options. If there was somewhere that we thought would be a good fit, we would make the change. I started searching for institutions closer to home (Setagaya area) and there were two which stood out:
Seijo Kinoshita Hospital
Tokyo Mothers Clinic
We scheduled tours at both and here were my observations:
Seijo Kinoshita Hospital:
Japan has an abundance of neutral cookie-cutter style buildings and I was caught off-guard by the exterior and architecture of this small hospital. Upon entering the building, I intended on only speaking English because I wanted to gauge how much support I would have - if my husband couldn't be with me. The receptionists didn't know about my tour booking and this concerned me. I let them know that I was there to meet the lady - translator - and they paged her. I was surprised to see many mothers and their babies waiting to be seen. I wasn't aware that checkups could be done at the hospital and I found this a bonus.
Upstairs the hospital looked like a hotel with different floors. The labour and delivery rooms were on one floor and I felt that since there wasn't an awareness about my tour, the midwives were not welcoming in showing us around.
There are options for private and shared rooms and personally I would only opt for a private room due to wanting privacy and rest.
Fee for delivery
Normal vaginal delivery 760,000 yen～C-section790,000 yen～
Delivery assistance fee : 680,000 yen (included in the above)
Painless delivery charge : 120,000 yen ～ (in addition to the above)
Night-time & holiday charge : 30,000 yen (in addition to the above)
Room charge (Tax included)
Multi-bed room: No extra charge
Private room: (with a shower, lavatory, toilet)14,300 - 30,800 yen /day
Special private room: 38,500 yen /day
Tokyo Mothers Clinic:
TMC was, for me, the perfect clinic. It checked all of my boxes and I left feeling really excited that I would start this new chapter of my life with them. To read more about them, please read the post, "Take my money!"
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