Giving birth in Nagano

Hi,

I need some information regarding 赤十字病院, particularly the one in Nagano. Is it a good reputable hospital for giving birth? I have no experience and was told I need to decide now!

Thanks heaps.

I don't think you're going to find a "bad" hospital, it's more, what are you looking for in your birthing experience, and can the hospital provide that?

Some different examples:

Do you want an epidural? Different hospitals have different policies on whether they will offer an epidural or not, how to request for/schedule one, and how much it is (as it's usually not covered by insurance or the lump-sum birth allowance).

Do you want something specific during/after the birth? Such as no episiotomy (they are VERY common in Japan, it's good to think about beforehand) any sort of specific care like kangaroo care or skinship after birth or anything regarding the umbilical cord like saving the blood; any sort of labor requests such as having a water bath, or being able to walk around or give birth in a specific position; etc.

Basically, you want to get an idea of what the general flow of labor/birth is at that hospital, think about how you'd like it to go, then make sure the hospital is flexible enough to accommodate any requests you may have.

I've given birth twice at the same (smaller, rural) hospital, and an experience with a D&C at a different one considered the "premier birthing hospital" in my area. If you have any questions, feel free to message and I can try to answer them. Good luck!