A nurse demonstrates Japan’s first ‘baby hatch,’ where parents can drop off unwanted infants anonymously, during a press preview at the Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto, on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, on May 1, 2007. The hospital now has a ‘confidential birth’ system designed to provide pregnant women with a safe and supportive environment to give birth and receive medical care, while also preserving their anonymity. (Photo: AFP)
Apr 26 2023
Pregnancy and childbirth are significant events in a woman’s life. However, for some Japanese women, the decision to keep their child and give birth can be challenging for various reasons.
In Japan, for example, giving birth as a minor is still regarded negatively, and social stigma surrounding teenage pregnancy and unwed mothers persists. There are schools where if a minor gets pregnant she will be “invited” to leave the school.
This stigma is the reason why women feel shame instead of joy at the news of having become pregnant. Consequently, they will tend to hide their pregnancy from friends and parents, and this will lead to unsafe and potentially fatal consequences for themselves and their babies.
It recently came to light that a teenage girl discovered she was pregnant after missing her period though she was sure her boyfriend had used contraception. Growing up in an abusive family and having previously sought temporary shelter at a child consultation center after running away from home, she was afraid to tell her parents about having a baby.
Her boyfriend, after initially agreeing to raise the baby together, disappeared. The teenager was drawn to think that abortion was the only solution, but as she tried to get one, she was repeatedly told that she needed to inform her parents about her pregnancy. As she’d decided to keep her pregnancy a secret from them, she started to search online for “confidential birth” and discovered Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto.
The confidential birth system plays a critical role in supporting pregnant women and their infants. The system is designed to provide pregnant women with a safe and supportive environment to give birth and receive medical care, while also preserving their anonymity. It ensures that women who fear judgment, social stigma, or even legal repercussions can still access essential healthcare services without fear of being judged or other negative consequences.
“It is often the case that women in the technical intern program who get pregnant immediately lose their jobs”
Essentially what the hospital does is allow the women to consult anonymously and take every test they need. That is how the girl we described felt relieved and decided to give birth in the end. But there are other cases where the final choice of the woman would have terrible results.
In fact, there have been many cases of babies being thrown away in dumps or in rivers and found dead only days later.
Recently a local resident found the body of a newborn baby in a vacant lot in Hiroshima prefecture and the police arrested a 19-year-old Vietnamese woman, who was part of Japan’s technical intern program, on suspicion of abandoning the baby.
A DNA test confirmed that the woman was the biological mother of the baby and she admitted it too. She had been in Japan for less than a year as one of the many workers recruited from Vietnam to address Japan’s labor shortage under the government’s technical intern program.
In a case like this, the woman feels constrained to get rid of the baby for reasons that unfortunately have to do with the fear of losing her occupation.
In fact, it is often the case that women in the technical intern program who get pregnant immediately lose their jobs and are consequently forced to go back to their own country.
These cases are almost impossible to monitor even for the employer as women tend to hide their pregnancy by tightening robes onto their bellies so as to not show the gestation.
“There are hundreds of babies who could find a family through the adoption system but instead, they tragically end up disappearing”
Therefore the only solution to this senseless child carnage — it has happened several times already this year — would be to spread more information about places such as the Kumamoto Hospital.
Confidential births do help prevent infant abandonment and mortality.
When a foreign worker knows there are other options besides losing their jobs or aborting the baby they will most likely choose the third option.
The confidential birth system helps to reduce the likelihood of tragic events by providing pregnant women with a safe and supportive environment to give birth and receive medical care. It also provides essential support and resources for pregnant women who may be facing other challenges, such as homelessness, poverty, or mental health issues.
One might wonder why aren’t more hospitals like this available. In Italy, for example, there are 47 such confidential birth centers, where 400 babies are born every year. In Germany, since 2014 more than 1,000 women have used such centers.
But in Japan? In three years the Kumamoto Hospital only saw eight births. There are hundreds of babies who could find a family through the adoption system but instead, they tragically end up disappearing — when found they are usually lifeless.
We must acknowledge the fact that the lack of confidential birth hospitals in Japan is a human rights issue. Every woman has the right to give birth in a safe and supportive environment, without fear of being socially ostracized. Why does the widely-discussed issue of the gender pay gap take priority in public discourse over this matter of life and death?
Let’s urge Japanese lawmakers to take action to increase the number of confidential birth hospitals in Japan. It must be ensured that all women have access to quality healthcare services and that their right to privacy and dignity is fully respected. – UCA News
*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.
