I’ll be holding an in-person Doula Cafe combined with Baby Cafe on Wednesday, April 17th, at 10am in Harajuku (the Tokyu Plaza Starbucks 6F). It’s a great chance to connect with other pregnant women, post-partum women, and talk about all things related to pregnancy, birth and baby, as well as meet me – a Tokyo Doula – and find out all about the services I offer, and my birth support, and how they might benefit you! You can also hear about some of my recent labour experiences with clients.
These meetings are FREE and something I enjoy doing very much and I’ll continue to hold in-person meetings in outside spaces (although I’ll continue to offer virtual meetings, too).
If you’d like to join, please let me know directly.
Here is a summary of the labours I supported in January of this year – 3 were at Ikuryo Clinic, 2 were at Aiiku, and 1 was at Seijo Kinoshita.
Labour 1 – baby born on Jan 7th
This was a 2nd time labour for my client. Her first baby was born mid-pandemic in 2021 in Aiiku hospital after a long labour with Dr Sen as her doctor. This time around, without Dr Sen being available as an OB anymore, and wanting a bit more flexibility with the labour & birth (not least wanting the option of her first child being able to be there in case of no childcare in the moment) she chose Ikuryo.
I supported her during some of her check ups, helped prepare her for her labour again, and was really happy to be there on the day.
Some pre-labour contractions began on January 6th but nothing significant (although noticeable, it wasn’t “hard”). At a check up on the morning of the 7th, she was 1cm dilated and her cervix was apparently 40% effaced (thinned out). She went back home as it wasn’t officially labour yet.
A few hours later at 3pm in the afternoon, things had got stronger and a lot closer. They headed to Ikuryo (older child as well as it was a Sunday and there was no childcare). She was 5cm on arrival which was great. I got there at 4pm and it was clear the contractions were nice and strong coming every 3 minutes.
As I was now there, it was decided that my client’s husband would go out with their older child (she was only 2) to help out and I’d stay with my client. At 4:20pm, she was moved to the delivery room and was 9cm at this point and bottom pressure was starting to build.
My client’s husband and child returned to the clinic (they’d been hanging around locally) and were in the waiting area as my client didn’t want her daughter in the delivery room at that point. She was trying all 4s and side-lying positions. By 5:15pm she was fully dilated. I was updating her husband and we were coordinating the time when I’d call him back to the room.
Baby was born at 5:45pm and her husband got back just as baby was crowning. At that point, I was just behind the curtain in the room with their older child who was trying to peek round – she was completely unperturbed which was good.
My client was able to have her skin to skin contact immediately – something she wasn’t able to have with her first birth until quite a number of hours after the birth. This was very special that she had a quicker and smoother 2nd birth.
Labour 2 – baby born Jan 12th
My client was admitted on Jan 11th in Seijo Kinoshita Hospital for the start of an induction. She was already 10 days past her due date. A prostaglandin was used to start preparing the cervix.
By the evening, contractions had slowly started to kick in and at 11:30pm, she was 4cm dilated. 2 hours later at 1:30am on the 12th, things had got a lot stronger and more frequent (every 3 minutes) and she was now 7cm.
I headed over and by the time I arrived at 2:30am, my client was 8cm. She was trying really hard to stay active and was using the active chair to manage during and between contractions.
She got onto the bed at 3am and was now 9cm dilated. The midwife could feel baby getting lower with the contractions, which was great. At this point, my client felt the need to vocalise during the contractions.
The water broke at 3:30am and 15 minutes later she was fully dilated. The urge to push was strong and she was now able to go with it. As can be the case for women at this stage, the feeling of not being able to do it came…but of course I was encouraging and motiviating her that all was fine and she was able to do it (we all get to a point where we think we can’t do it anymore).
My client was given a bit of extra oxygen to help and moved on to her side for pushing. The midwife suggested some oxytocin as the gaps were getting longer between contractions and the length of each contraction was also a little shorter. The oxytocin was started at 4:30am.
Baby was born just before 5:30am. The last 20 minutes were a bit of a challenge as baby’s heartrate dropped and wasn’t recovering as they want to see, so the doctor had to do an assisted delivery (vacuum followed by forceps). Baby needed a bit of special observation afterwards and so a transfer was arranged to Seiiku hospital (the NCCHD). While my client’s husband went with baby, I stayed with her. This part was understandably stressful for my client, but thankfully baby’s condition improved quickly. While these situations are uncommon (they don’t happen in most births), hospital and clinic staff have good protocols in place to deal with them.
Labour 3 – baby born Jan 17th
My client had a long pre/early labour. Contractions started slowly on January 13th. Over the next couple of days, my client went to Aiiku (her hospital) a couple of times to check to see how things were going and got sent back home with things being too early still. Her contractions were enough that she could feel them clearly and resting wasn’t easy, but not getting super powerful yet.
On January 16th, she felt that she really couldn’t stay at home any longer (already feeling so tired from 3 days of pre-labour) and went to Aiiku in the early morning. She was 2cm. She decided to get an epidural and an induction was started (oxytocin was given) to keep labour going and hopefully speed it up. I arrived mid-afternoon.
By 5pm she was 7cm and by 6:30pm she was 9cm. By 8pm she was fully dilated.
At 9pm, she was having lots of back pain. The doctor came and checked and all was fine – baby was getting lower. The anaesthesiologist came and did a top up of the epidural.
Baby was still too high for pushing so my client tried to move around on the bed as much as the epidural would allow. The contractions were also on the weak side despite the induction being at the maximum level, so the movement was important for helping to try and make things stronger. They also said no more epidural top up.
At midnight (now Jan 17th), the midwife said a vacuum delivery was looking possible as contractions weren’t strong enough for pushing and they were also a bit too far apart as well (a common occurrence with the epidural plus a long labour in general). It had also been a number of hours since my client had been fully dilated. The doctor then came in shortly after and confirmed that they would be doing a vacuum delivery as contractions weren’t becoming effective for pushing. The doctor also said that there was a chance of c-section if the vacuum didn’t work.
Thankfully, the vacuum did work and baby was born just after 12:30am. My client did have a post-partum complication with a lot of bleeding (post-partum hemorrhage) but it was managed smoothly with meds and a special balloon inflated in the uterus to help stem things and increase the effectiveness of the post-partum contractions.
Baby was taken to the nursery 15 minutes after birth (in part because of vacuum delivery) but my client could get a couple of photos with baby with her husband before. Whilst it was a tough labour, my client recovered her strength well after some post-partum care.
Labour 4 – baby born January 22nd
This was a 2nd baby for my client and the birth was at Ikuryo. My client had had a traumatic first labour a few years before in another country and reached out to me because she wanted support for a more positive experience and also to try this labour naturally (unmedicated)…as her previous labour was in-part impacted by the epidural.
With this baby, my client’s due date came and went…she was worried that she’d need an induction but the clinic was agreeable in letting her wait to 41+5 before doing one. Literally, the day before the induction date her contractions began!
She contacted me in the morning to say that contractions in the morning but they weren’t strong. As she was due for a prenatal check up at 10am, she waited at home till then.
I already happened to be in the clinic when she arrived for her check and whilst she was having contractions, they weren’t powerful yet. But it was certainly looking hopeful that active labour would kick in soon. When she got checked, she was 3cm and was also leaking amniotic fluid, so she was admitted. It was now waiting for baby time.
I headed off to my doula cafe while things were still in the early stages. But then 30 minutes later at just after 12:15pm, her husband called me to say she was now 6cm and things had really got strong, so I went back and got there at 12:40pm.
My client was very quiet during her contractions. just focusing on very slow, deep breathing. She was alternating between side-lying, using the active chair, and all 4s.
She went to the toilet at 3pm and that’s when things changed – more powerful still and she started saying she didn’t think she could do it. As much as I could, I tried to motivate and I also helped her switch to “balloon breathing” – a technique I sometimes use in transition that can help bring baby down and not panic by pretending you’re trying to blow up a balloon. She was good at following along and got herself mentally back on track very well.
The midwife checked at 3:15pm due to the clear change in how she was and my client was now 8cm and baby still a bit high. The doctor then came in to check a few minutes later and she was now fully dilated with a baby very close to crowing! The only 2 pushes later with her “balloon breathing” baby was born (at 3:25pm). Often when it’s a 2nd (or more) labour, transition and birth can come a lot more suddenly than with the 1st baby. She also got skin to skin straight away – something that she couldn’t have the first time (as baby was taken for checks) which upset her a lot, but this time she got to experience the wonderful feeling of having that immediately.
My client was so happy to have a smoother birth experience without the need for interventions this time, and I’m so pleased to have helped give her some confidence with it all! Especially well done to her as her baby was a few grams short of 4kg!
Labour 5 – baby born also on Jan 22nd
As the above labour was happening, another client was being induced as she was also past her due date and due to various personal reasons, including child care, she didn’t want to keep waiting any longer (she was 40+3). This was also her 2nd baby, with her older child having been born in the US 2 years previously.
She went in to Ikuryo in the morning to start the induction. As she was already 3cm, it meant that she didn’t need the cervix dilation part (balloon, sticks or prostaglandin) and went straight on to oxytocin.
Things went gradually and she was 4-5cm at 4pm when I rejoined them after the above labour. The staff turned the oxytocin off at 5pm as that often happens when there have been no significant changes on the first day of an induction. The contractions eased off a little but were still there. She decided to get an epidural (this was her plan anyway to get one at some point) so she could try and sleep before the induction was restarted in the morning. She got the epidural at 7pm and she was still 4-5cm at 8pm when the midwife checked again.
I went home as the expectation would be that it would be round 2 of the oxytocin in the morning. However, at 10am I got a call from her husband asking me to come back – her water had suddenly broke, she was now 6cm, and baby was going through some noticeable and apparently concerning heart rate decelerations.
I got back to the clinic and the staff were preparing for a c-section “just in case” they needed to switch to one suddenly. One of the senior midwives on duty thought that even though she wasn’t fully dilated yet, her cervix was very favourable (felt very soft and was thinned out) and that pushing may work, especially as it was 2nd baby. So just before 11pm, they got her to really try and actively push (she still had some feeling with the epidural which was very helpful for this). It went well and within a few pushes baby was born vaginally at 11:10pm – and no extra interventions were needed (no cutting, vacuum etc which can be the case when baby seems to be in distress).
Although they needed to check baby first, all the checks were done in the birth room and baby was doing well quite quickly. So a short time later, my client was able to get skin to skin and baby stayed with her that way for a long time (until it was time to move back to her room).
My client did a great job remaining calm when there were concerns for baby’s health and the preparation for a c-section – she trusted that staff would do what was in baby’s best interests and wasn’t worried. But ultimately I’m glad she could have a vaginal delivery and that that part went very quickly and smoothly (and that the senior midwife made a good judgement call about the “early” pushing).
As another fun note – this was also a big baby at 4kg on the dot.
Labour 6 – baby born January 26th
This was a first baby for my client and an Aiiku hospital birth.
On January 23rd, I had a meeting with my client & her husband, along with her parents who were visiting Japan for a few days. Her due date was the end of January and her parents were already going to be back in their home country then. At this point, there were no signs of labour.
On the 24th in the middle of the night she had a little spotting, and then she had a check up because she was a bit concerned (some degree of bleeding/spotting is very normal but of course it can make people worried). The cervix was closed and still thick. She thought she was feeling some irregular braxton hicks though.
Then around midnight going into the 26th, contractions started to become a bit more noticeable and frequent. By 7am, they were strong and she was having more bloody discharge (the bloody show). My client wanted to stay at home more as she was doing a good job managing things – also, the contractions were still not so regular yet, coming between every 4-7minutes, so there was still time.
By 9am, there was some bottom pressure as well and the frequency was every 3-4 minutes. They prepared to go to Aiiku and got checked at 11am. She was now 7cm which was great to hear. I was already near Aiiku, so I headed straight over and was there within about 10-15minutes.
At 11:30am, she needed some extra oxygen to help as baby was having some heart rate decelerations. A check just after showed she was already at 9cm! It seemed that the cord was around baby’s neck possibly causing some of the decelerations (the doctor checked with an ultrasound), but things stabilised with the extra oxygen.
My client was already getting a lot more extreme pressure in her bottom and by 12:10pm she was 10cm. The midwives started setting everything up for delivery. Overall, my client was very gentle in her way of dealing with contractions – a gentle voice and very controlled breathing.
My client was actually amazing with the pushing stage – following guidance well and staying calm and controlled, and by 12:48pm baby was born. At 1:35pm, she was then able to get 5 mins of skin to skin before baby was taken up to the nursery (as per policy). In Aiiku, skin to skin is only possible after everything has been sorted out with the mum (with stitching and cleaning up) and only if baby is in great condition, so it can take time before there’s skin to skin. Thankfully my client was able to get at least a little bit.
Here is a collage of some photos from those births!
The April Zoom Doula Cafe on Zoom will be on Sunday April 7th, at 9:30am!
Partners are also welcome to attend this Doula Cafe! Doula Cafe is a FREE pregnancy support meeting.
In this Doula Cafe, we’ll have free-flowing conversation, talking about topics such as the hospital bag, labour, your hospital, options, pregnancy & post-partum life, and any questions, concerns or worries you have about having a baby/going through birth here…as well as what my doula support looks like to get you through. It’s also a chance for everyone to ask any other questions they have about pregnancy, about labour, and about life with a baby in Japan.
These Doula Cafes are also great if anyone is interested in finding out about my work as a doula, how I work and how I can support you through pregnancy, labour and the post-partum period, I’m always very happy to talk about that, too.
For those who are interested in a full birth support package (from pregnancy through to post-partum), please get in touch – I am taking bookings for those due from September-November now. 1 spot has opened up for June, too. If you urgently need my support between April-July, please contact me to see what can be worked out.
Private birth preparation classes (in person or online) can be arranged. Please contact me if you’d like a private session in your home. For group options, the April & May sessions are now full. The next availability is in June. I will also hold an Aiiku Birth Skills session this Spring, too, for anyone having their baby at Aiiku hospital.
For other consultations and support, please get in touch, too (hospital/birth plan consultations, breastfeeding, post-partum support and so on).
If you’d like to join the Doula Cafe, please email me here and I’ll send you the link! Grab yourself a drink of choice, relax in the comfort of your own home, and let’s talk!
These Doula Cafe meetings are FREE and something I enjoy doing very much. I have an online option each month but also have an in-person meeting, too. The next in-person Doula Cafe will be on April 17th.
Welcome to April 2024! Spring is here and the start of some of the best weather in Japan (before it gets too hot & humid).
In March, I was able to attend labours in Ikuryo & Tsuchiya Women’s Clinic. I also had 2 virtual labours. I’ve also been in the UK for the past 10 days and will be back in Japan on Friday (April 5th), so will be available again for in-person classes, consults, visits and birth support.
For those with due dates between June and mid-July I only have space left for 1(!!) more full-spectrum Birth support package client. Please contact me if you’d like to arrange a free 15 minute Zoom introductory call (support is available both in-person and virtually) and I work with women in other areas of Japan as well. From September onwards, there is more availabilty and I’m taking bookings for those who are due in November now.
For anyone who would like a detailed consult to talk through hospital options and birth plan preferences, please contact me and we can set a time up - I have extensive knowledge through my years of doula work (with insider information) in what to expect in many different hospitals for births – in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, and across Japan overall. Knowing the hospital’s policies and practices is helpful when it comes to writing a “birth plan”.
Also, preparation for birth is so important. Knowing about labour, how to manage, when is a good time to head to hospital, what to expect at your hospital and so on is vital. Where my classes stand out is that they take a very Japan and hospital-specific angle with that, as each facility will be a bit different with policies & allowances, and what you can expect in labour and how you manage it will sometimes be a bit different due to this.
There are group options as well as private birth preparation sessions (either in-person at home or on Zoom), birth plan/hospital or other consults, and post-partum/breastfeeding support visits. For those who prefer private preparation, please send me an email as I can only do one private preparation session each month. For group classes – my fully comprehensive Birthing with Confidence 3 hour group sessions, they are fully booked for April & May now. There is 1 space left for May. I’ll also be planning an “Aiiku Birth Skills” class in Spring, too, for those having their babies in Aiiku hospital.
With my group classes, meetings & get-togethers, you can see what options are available this month below. Please note that the schedule is slightly limited due to the winter holidays. There are online classes and in-person options so everyone can choose what suits them best. The classes and events I offer have all come from me knowing what I would have benefitted from with my own first pregnancy 17 years ago – the support and information that would have helped me. I hope these classes and meetings help you, too.
Please get in touch if you’d like to book a class or if you have any questions.
April 7th –9:30AM – ZoomDoula Cafe – FREE SUPPORT SESSION for pregnant women & partners
April 12th – 5PM – Zoom Breathing for Birth class
April 14th – 3:30-6:30PM – Group Birthing With Confidence 3 hour Childbirth Preparation– for couples (in Azabu) – fully-booked, waiting list only
April 17th – 10AM – In-person Combined Doula & Baby Cafe – FREE SUPPORT SESSION for pregnant & post-partum women (Harajuku)
April 17th – 12PM – In-person Breathing for Birth class (in Azabu)
April 20th – 9:30AM – CouplesZoom Breathing for Birth class
April 20th – 5PM – Zoom Infant Care Info session
April 23rd – 6PM – Zoom Breastfeeding Education Workshop
*Weekdays/evenings & Weekends are also possible for private classes/sessions depending on the day/time*
**For April, allonline group classes will be 1,500yen per attendee, or 2,500 yen for Couples (minimum 3 individuals or 2 couples to run each online session). In-person 1 hour group classes are 2,500 yen per person or 4,000 per couple if you join with your partner. Birthing with Confidence/Aiiku Birth Skills group in-person birth preparation will be 13,000 yen per couple. For private options, available for all classes, please ask as it depends on the class :)**
Every so often, I support couples who are pregnant with twins. The most recent experience of this was in early January where I was at the (planned c-section) birth of twin girls.
In mid-December, I was contacted by a couple who live in Gunma asking about my doula services. They were not satisfied with the hospital options in Gunma for the birth of their babies mainly because they weren’t allowing the partner/husband in the hospital for the birth or visitation. Of course, the thought of this made them feel uncomfortable and, understandably, a bit anxious. They decided to seek out options in Tokyo, had heard of me, and wondered if I might be able to support them.
Based on information they’d heard and my own doula experience there, they decided to use Ikuryo Clinic for the birth with a planned c-section. Ikuryo Clinic were fine with their late pregnancy transfer and my clients temporarily moved down to Tokyo to be closer to the clinic for a couple of weeks before the c-section.
As it was, my client’s c-section was decided for January 5th (36+0 weeks) based on the fact that the twins were measuring big enough and her blood pressure was getting elevated. She was admitted on the 4th in the late afternoon in preparation for the operation to be done in the morning of the 5th. Her husband stayed overnight with her as well.
I arrived the morning of the c-section and once the babies were born, my client’s husband and me were taken into the room where the babies were being checked up. He got to hold them and be with them while my client was finishing her surgery, and we all (me, husband and babies) waited for her to be wheeled back to her room. This is one of the big pluses of Ikuryo – that other than truly necessary, babies are kept with the parents rather than separated after birth in the nursery for a few hours. It was lovely to support my client’s husband in holding the babies and as soon as my client was back in her room (just over an hour after the operation started) she was able to do skin-to-skin with her babies.
She wanted to give breastfeeding a go, so we tried to get babies on the breast. My client worked hard with establishing breastfeeding and although the start was a bit challenging, she persevered. The babies are now breastfeeding and getting some supplement (which is what is working for them).
After 5 days at the clinic, they were discharged and returned to Gunma. They returned to Ikuryo for the 2 week-check up and 1 month check-up, by which time the babies were doing very well.
For them, having this birth experience was a really positive experience. The fact that they could stay together and didn’t have to be unnecessarily separated in the first few days made a big difference. As my client said, “We have both had tons of wonderful moments with the twins…really grateful that we can all be together”.
I’ll be holding an in-person Doula Cafe combined with Baby Cafe on Monday, March 11th, at 12pm in Harajuku (the Tokyu Plaza Starbucks 6F). It’s a great chance to connect with other pregnant women, post-partum women, and talk about all things related to pregnancy, birth and baby, as well as meet me – a Tokyo Doula – and find out all about the services I offer, and my birth support, and how they might benefit you! You can also hear about some of my recent labour experiences with clients.
These meetings are FREE and something I enjoy doing very much and I’ll continue to hold in-person meetings in outside spaces (although I’ll continue to offer virtual meetings, too).
If you’d like to join, please let me know directly.
The March Zoom Doula Cafe on Zoom will be on Saturday March 9th, at 5pm!
Partners are also welcome to attend this Doula Cafe! Doula Cafe is a FREE pregnancy support meeting.
In this Doula Cafe, we’ll have free-flowing conversation, talking about topics such as the hospital bag, labour, your hospital, options, pregnancy & post-partum life, and any questions, concerns or worries you have about having a baby/going through birth here…as well as what my doula support looks like to get you through. It’s also a chance for everyone to ask any other questions they have about pregnancy, about labour, and about life with a baby in Japan.
These Doula Cafes are also great if anyone is interested in finding out about my work as a doula, how I work and how I can support you through pregnancy, labour and the post-partum period, I’m always very happy to talk about that, too.
For those who are interested in a full birth support package (from pregnancy through to post-partum), please get in touch – I am taking bookings for those due from September now (April-June is full). If you urgently need my support between April-July, please contact me to see what can be worked out.
Private birth preparation classes (in person or online) can be arranged. Please contact me if you’d like a private session in your home. For group options, there the March & April sessions are now full. The next availability is in May.
For other consultations and support, please get in touch, too (hospital/birth plan consultations, breastfeeding, post-partum support and so on).
If you’d like to join the Doula Cafe, please email me here and I’ll send you the link! Grab yourself a drink of choice, relax in the comfort of your own home, and let’s talk!
These Doula Cafe meetings are FREE and something I enjoy doing very much. I am keeping an online option each month but will also have an in-person meeting, too. The next in-person Doula Cafe will be on March 11th.
Welcome to March 2024! Spring is around the corner and, with that, Sakura (cherry blossom) this month!
February was a wonderful month of babies – I supported 10 couples in total at (5 in Ikuryo and 5 in Aiiku), all with their own labour and birth experiences to share.
I am now taking birth clients for Full Spectrum Doula Support with due dates from September onwards. April to mid-July has just 1 possible space (although if you urgently need my doula support for labour, please get in touch). Please contact me if you’d like to arrange a free 15 minute Zoom introductory call (support is available both in-person and virtually) and I work with women in other areas of Japan as well.
For anyone who would like a detailed consult to talk through hospital options and birth plan preferences, please contact me and we can set a time up - I have extensive knowledge through my years of doula work (with insider information) in what to exepct in many different hospitals for births – in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, and across Japan overall. Knowing the hospital’s policies and practices is helpful when it comes to writing a “birth plan”.
Also, preparation for birth is so important. Knowing about labour, how to manage, when is a good time to head to hospital, what to expect at your hospital and so on is vital. Where my classes stand out is that they take a very Japan and hospital-specific angle with that, as each facility will be a bit different with policies & allowances, and what you can expect in labour and how you manage it will sometimes be a bit different due to this.
There are group options as well as private birth preparation sessions (either in-person at home or on Zoom), birth plan/hospital or other consults, and post-partum/breastfeeding support visits. For those who prefer private preparation, please send me an email as I can only do one private preparation session each month. For group classes – my fully comprehensive Birthing with Confidence 3 hour group sessions, they are fully booked until April now. The May session has 1 space left. These classes are preparation for couples in any hospital. I will be offering an Aiiku-specific birth preparation class in Spring, too (date TBA).
With my group classes, meetings & get-togethers, you can see what options are available this month below. Please note that the schedule is slightly limited due to the Spring holidays my children have. There are online classes and in-person options so everyone can choose what suits them best. The classes and events I offer have all come from me knowing what I would have benefitted from with my own first pregnancy 17 years ago – the support and information that would have helped me. I hope these classes and meetings help you, too.
Please get in touch if you’d like to book a class or if you have any questions.
March 9th –5PM – ZoomDoula Cafe – FREE SUPPORT SESSION for pregnant women & partners
March 10th – 3:30-6:30PM – Group Birthing With Confidence 3 hour Childbirth Preparation– for couples (in Azabu) (Waiting list only)
March 11th – 12PM – In-person Combined Doula & Baby Cafe – FREE SUPPORT SESSION for pregnant & post-partum women (Harajuku)
March 15th – 5:00PM – Zoom Breathing for Birth class
March 20th – 12PM – In-person Breathing for Birth class (in Azabu)
March 24th – 6PM – Zoom Breastfeeding Education Workshop
*Weekdays/evenings & Weekends are also possible for private classes/sessions depending on the day/time*
**For March, allonline group classes will be 1,500yen per attendee, or 2,500 yen for Couples (minimum 3 individuals or 2 couples to run each online session). In-person 1 hour Breathing for Birth group classes are 2,500 yen per person or 4,000 per couple if you join with your partner. Birthing with Confidence/Aiiku Birth Skills group in-person birth preparation will be 13,000 yen per couple. For private options, available for all classes, please ask as it depends on the class :)**
My last labour support of 2023 was on December 19th at Aiiku Hospital.
My client’s due date was December 17th, so she was pretty much “on time” in that sense.
I got a message from my client letting me know that she’d had some mild contractions on December 18th, but nothing especially strong or progressing yet.
They continued into the evening and gradually started getting stronger and closer. By 11pm, her partner contacted me to say that they were coming every 5 minutes and a lot stronger (around a 6/10 on a scale of intensity). They continued to stay at home and see how things continued.
By 1am on the 19th, they had contacted Aiiku who said to try to take a bath at home and see how it goes. 1.5 hours later, things were a lot stronger, so they headed to the hospital.
They arrived at Aiiku just after 3am and my client was 4cm. It seemed like the water had broken, too. As my client wanted an epidural, this was done at around 4:30am and my client slept. I headed over in the morning.
By 7:30am, she was actually almost fully dilated. Oxytocin (the induction medicine) was needed however to make the contractions closer and stronger to bring baby down and also for pushing. So this was started at 8am. This is common and almost everyone who has an epidural will end up with the oxytocin, too.
My client was comfortable throughout this (this can really vary from person to person with the epidural – some having no feeling, others feeling a lot more).
My client was given some extra oxygen to help her and baby as this was going on. Baby was finally born at just before 11:30am. Pushing went relatively smoothly but baby was taken up to the nursery for observation and extra oxygen within a few minutes of birth because she needed a bit more help to regulate her breathing rate. There was time for a couple of photos together first, thankfully (below).
As many of you know, there are some weeks where I end up supporting many births at a time. Mid-December was one such week where 7 of my clients had their babies within 4 days!
The first 2 births took place on Dec 11th at Ikuryo Clinic. One was an unmedicated labour, and one was with an epidural.
The first client to go into labour was the second of the two women to give birth on that day (she had the epidural). Her labour started at 1am with some contractions followed by her water breaking. She arrived in Ikuryo at 2:30am and was 5cm which was great. I got there an hour later. She was doing great but chose to get an epidural at 4am.
By 5am she was 7cm, and by 8am fully dilated. However, baby was now facing up (sometimes the epidural can affect how the baby rotates, due to contractions that aren’t as strong plus not being able to walk around to let gravity help). Oxytocin was started at 11am to try to help make things stronger (common with most people who have the epidural), and eventually baby was born at 2:15pm. Everyone worked really hard to give my client a birth without any additional interventions. It came very close to needing assistance with a vacuum and episiotomy but the doctor agreed to wait as long as possible and baby was able to be born with a huge amount of effort without that.
My other client was in labour at the same time, and actually gave birth first. I was already in Ikuryo with the client I talked about above when she contacted me at 6am to say she was having strong contractions very suddenly that were every 2-3 minutes.
She arrived at Ikuryo at 8:30am and was already 8cm (music to anyone’s ears in labour!). As my other client was quite comfortable due to the epidural, and it seemed it would still take quite a bit of time, I spent time with this client.
At 9:30am, she was already feeling a lot of bottom pressure and moved to the delivery room just after 10am. She was almost fully dilated.
By 10:45am, she was officially fully dilated with a strong urge to push (this is so different without an epidural as the body just takes over). She tried various positions, including side pushing and all 4s to see what was working, and eventually went on to her back as well. Baby was born around 12:30pm!
My third birth of this week was on December 12th. This was a scheduled c-section again in Ikuryo for a 2nd baby for this particular client. Her first baby was born in the UK also by c-section and she was very new to Japan still having just arrived literally only a few weeks previously. Although Ikuryo Clinic wasn’t close for her, it was the best option in terms of allowing her family to be there, visit after, and the pain relief options for afterwards (this was an important point for her).
After her baby was born, I got a message from another client (client number 4) to say she was heading to her hospital, which was Aiiku, because she was having some contractions and a lot of “bloody show”. This was at 2:30pm. This was baby number 2 for this client and she’d had a regular prenatal check up in the morning – no labour yet. I left pretty much straight away to go to this client, especially when she said her water broke in the taxi as well. She arrived at the hospital at 2:40pm.
I arrived at 3:10pm at Aiiku and baby was already almost crowning! Her husband was still on his way and it was clear he wasn’t going to make it. My client had really wanted an epidural but it obviously was not a possibility. Baby was born just before 2:20pm. Such a fast 2nd birth for her!
The 5th client of the week was the following day on December 13th. It was a 3rd baby for this client and another Aiiku experience. My client was having an induction (due to baby’s size being on the big side).
The balloon was inserted into her cervix at 9am and oxytocin was started at 10:15am. By 11am she was 5cm dilated. I arrived at 11:30am and she’d taken the epidural.
At 12:30pm, she was 7cm, and by 4:45pm she was 9cm. In between these times, baby’s heart rate had dropped quite significantly 3 times. The staff mentioned that they’d continue to keep an eye and possibly make a “plan B” if there were more concerning incidences of this.
At 5:10pm, my client was feeling a lot more bottom pressure and when the midwives checked she was now 10cm dilated and baby was at +1 station (so getting a bit lower). My client did a great job on holding off on getting more epidural top up so that she could push with as much feeling as possible. This helped baby a lot and my client gave birth just before 6pm.
The next birth (client number 6) was on December 14th just after 2:30am in the morning. It was a first baby for my client and this baby came fast!
Her husband called me at 12:30am to say that she was having contractions and that they came on strong and suddenly. They headed to Ikuryo, which was an hour away from where they live by car. I made my way over, too, and got there at 1:45am.
She was 8cm on arrival which was great and she was doing a great job breathing calmly. At 1:55am, her waters broke and she was feeling very strong bottom pressure. Baby was born just after 2:30am naturally and with no interventions. A labour of about 3 hours from start to finish – a very fast first birth!
It was lovely that her mother could be there as well (Ikuryo allow that).
The 7th client of the week was also December 14th. For this client, it was also at Ikuryo Clinic and it was a scheduled c-section with her 2nd baby (her first baby was also c-section back in the U.S.).
Me, her husband, and her older daughter (4) were all there together – it was nice for my client not to have to be away from her older child and to her have there to meet new baby sister and see mummy immediately after the c-section.
It was a really smooth c-section and daddy and big sister got to see all the baby check-ups and hold baby in the first few minutes after birth. This is one of the nice aspects about c-sections at Ikuryo – as long as everything is fine with baby, baby stays with the partner after the operation rather than get taken to the nursery so there is no separation from a parent. Mum was able to get her skin to skin as soon as she was back in her recovery room an hour later. A much smoother, less stressful c-section the 2nd time around for my client.
Tokyo Doula Support 