Japan to tackle isolated birth

More than 200,000 child abuse consultations across Japan were reported in 2020 according to a survey. This is the highest number ever. Seventy-two fatalities due to child abuse were reported in 2019-2020, and 28 cases, which accounted for 38.9%, were less than a year old. In the background, there are isolated pregnancies.

What causes an isolated pregnancy?

There are various cases where pregnant women become isolated. The main reasons are often financial distress and unexpected pregnancy. For example, for most teenage pregnancies, where the woman is not financially independent, the woman often hides their pregnancy from their parents. Unmarried women often lose touch with their partners after they discover their pregnancies. Some other cases are due to domestic violence from their partners or divorce during their pregnancy.

In most cases, the women are afraid of their pregnancy becoming known to the people around them, even their parents, and choose to keep it secret throughout their pregnancy. As a result, they frequently choose to give birth by themselves due to financial issues or a lack of information.

How isolated pregnancies get help anonymously

Neither confidential nor anonymous births are legislated yet in Japan. However, a maternity clinic called Jikei hospital in Kumamoto has been working on these issues. It has operated a “baby hatch” called “Konotori no Yurikago” which anonymously accepts babies whose parents are unable to raise them alone, and it also has introduced a de facto “confidential birth” system allowing isolated pregnant women to give birth anonymously. They offer a free consultation service via phone call or email on their website.

In October, Jikei hospital took in a woman who wanted to give birth without her family knowing. She ended up revealing her identity before giving birth. If someone were to give birth anonymously, there would be some issues registering the birth with the city due to the law. This issue is still under discussion between the hospital, the city and the government.

Kagoshima prefecture has also set up a help desk where you can anonymously consult about your situation online. The help desk can be accessed through a chat app called LINE by searching for the ID “@kagopre” and adding the account to your friend list. You can get information on what to do when you are unsure if you are pregnant.

If you cannot find the information you need or are looking for someone to talk to, you can also send a message through their form. If the form is shown in Japanese, you can translate it into English with Chrome browser. Right-click in the form and select “Translate to English.”

You are not alone

Giving birth alone with insufficient knowledge carries a high risk for yourself and your baby. These services exist in order to protect people going through isolated pregnancies. If you are in this situation, please do not hesitate to use them. At the same time, we need to further develop these systems as soon as possible.

Pregnancy hotlines

• Jikei hospital pregnancy hotline (Phone and/or contact form)

Phone number: 0120-783-449