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The best maternity hospital in the world?

The highlight of my visits to Japanese birth facilities was the Fureai Hospital in Yokohama, a city of 4 million people adjacent to Tokyo. The early immigrants to Japan settled in Yokohama because it was the entrance port to Japan and it has a reputation for a more cosmopolitan atmosphere (not all that readily apparent to the untrained eye!). However, it is seen locally as more progressive in many ways and this hospital is a good example.

The hospital is a converted modern hotel and offers a range of medical services along with a small birth unit which is located on the 8th floor. There was no hint of “hospital” in the lobby area downstairs and as I stepped out of the lift to visit the maternity unit, I could have still been in a hotel. Pastel shades of wallpaper, pretty dados, not a single poster or sign on the wall (“wash your hands!” etc) - just an airy light atmosphere and a pervading sense of peace.

The unit is the brainchild of Dr Tomoko Saotome, an obstetrician who specialises in women’s health and sexuality. She is a wonderful woman, with a sensitivity and insight that has no doubt been influenced by spending time in the West and the birth of her own two children. She has created the best maternity unit I have ever seen.

There are the usual birth rooms, which are large and sun-filled and women stay in the same room for labour and birth (unusual for Japan). The postnatal rooms on the same floor are also very low key and homelike, with warm colours and comfortable furniture. A small nursery (now used as a storage area!) and bathrooms complete the picture.

The most striking feature of this unit is the area to one side, where they have set up a birth room in what was thought to be the traditional Japanese restaurant area of the former hotel. A series of interconnecting small rooms, complete with tatami matting, sliding paper screens and bamboo walls and ceilings have been left untouched, and in place of the tables and seating, futons and cushions offer a comfortable space for labour and birth. A small room once used for Tea Ceremonies is also sometimes used for birth and this room has a wonderful view through sliding screens onto a well established Japanese roof garden, complete with trees, a stream and numerous plants and shrubs. Access to this garden is also possible through a small passageway with stepping stones set in gravel in the traditional manner.

On the morning of our visit there were three futons set out in the birth room and a breastfeeding clinic was about to get underway. Women with breastfeeding babies could visit and seek advice from a midwife or just meet and socialise with other breastfeeding mothers. One new mum was having her breasts massaged as she fed her baby, and other babies happily crawled around. The midwife who was in attendance is in independent practice nearby, and offers home births, her midwife house for births and postnatal clinics in this hospital.

The maternity unit caters for a limited number of clients to ensure that each woman receives the best of care and is able to achieve a peaceful birth. Around 30 women each month give birth there, under the supervision of the midwives and Dr Saotome. This small number has become a problem because the hospital’s owners want to make more money by making the facilities available to more women. Dr Tomako is insistent that if this happens the special nature of this unit will change and she is fighting to save it as it is.

Most hospitals that I visit have a sameness about them and a predictable arrangement of medical equipment and clutter that all scream “hospital”. This maternity unit was completely different and an outstanding example of what can be achieved when a person of vision has the chance to follow through in all aspects. It should be used as a showcase for others in Japan to follow and Dr Saotome deserves wide recognition for her achievements. The managers of this Hospital perhaps don’t yet realise what a public relations bonanza they have on their doorstep!

I’ll include some pictures in the Photo Gallery at the end of these articles on Japan.

Posted by andrea at December 15, 2005 09:32 AM