- Baby, First Trimester, General, Labor/Birth, Newborn, Pregnancy, Second Trimester, Third Trimester, Trying to Conceive
Pregnancy Omamori in Japan: Amulets for Trying to Conceive and Childbirth
If you visit a shrine or temple in Japan, you will likely see some colorful and tiny pouch-like items for sale. These are amulets called omamori (お守り), which contain the blessings of priests…
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IVF in Japan: Pippa’s Story
One of the reasons I started interviewing women in Japan about their pregnancies was to highlight that although we all gave birth in Japan, our pregnancies and birth stories are unique. And for…
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Mizuko (水子): My Experience with Miscarriage in Japan
Mizuko, or “water child” (水子), is a term used in Japan for babies who are miscarried, stillborn, aborted, or die shortly after birth. It was a term I never knew about, alongside the…
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A Short Guide to Japanese Pregnancy Tests and Ovulation Predictor Kits
Whether you’re planning on a baby or not, having a baby in another country is daunting, to say the least. Especially challenging is trying to figure out what to buy when it comes…
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Prenatal Vitamins in Japan
I have a confession: I knew nothing about pregnancy before I was pregnant. I know, shocking, right? But I did find out while I was trying to conceive (thanks to Jean Twenge’s The…
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Must-Know Japanese for Pregnancy
Being pregnant in a foreign country is tough, but adding new terminology in another language to that just adds to the stress of it all. I’ll admit, although I’m a translator, I just…
