Women are forced to make a choice between continuing work or getting pregnant and giving birth, without having sufficient knowledge about pregnancy and childbirth.

This sounds like one of those "we need to educate people better so they'll do what we want" types of arguments.

If people don't want to have kids, they ain't gonna have kids.

Deal with it.

Some experts suggest that a lack of basic knowledge among Japanese about pregnancy and childbirth may be one of the factors behind the declining population.

Isn't this the case for every first time mother around the world throughout all of human history? I don't see why Japan should be considered different or special.

You can even watch a baby being born on the internet these days. Something you couldn't do 10 or 15 years ago.

"without having sufficient knowledge about pregnancy": does that include knowledge about how to get pregnant? Maybe that is why the birth rate is falling.

gokai Think there is plenty of knowledge on how to get pregnant. Isn't there some statistic that abortion in Japan is way more common than in other developed countries?

Wakarimasen, just trying to inject a little morning humor.

Some experts suggest that a lack of basic knowledge among Japanese about pregnancy and childbirth may be one of the factors behind the declining population.

Okay ladies, so here are the basic facts. It hurts. A LOT! And not just the actual childbirth. Look forward to months of back pain, pain from skin stretching too fast, intrusive medical examinations... and then hours and hours and hours and hours of agony during the delivery with male Japanese doctors who refuse to give you an epidural because.... well, they've never had to experience it so they really don't care.

Oh, and a large number of you (about 40%) can look forward to months or even years of postpartum depression, which will be ignored in Japan thanks to the unwillingness to confront the issue of mental problems. Untreated postpartum depression carries with it a heightened risk of death by suicide, with studies finding that about 20% of women with postpartum depression were categorized as high suicide risks.

And don't expect any support from your husband because his company probably won't let him take paternity leave and will keep him at the office from early every morning to late every night, so you're on your own.

... still wanna have a baby?

Yeah, I thought not.

The problem in Japan isn't educating the younger generation, it is educating the dinosaurs who run companies and hospitals about how society needs to change in order to create conditions where giving birth and raising a child in "modern" Japan isn't hellish for mothers.

For those of you saying that it's normal to not have knowledge about giving birth, an anecdote.

I was working with someone who was otherwise very well educated (Todai, business English, working in a financial services at a gaishikei), who was 8 months pregnant (and still working!) when a coworker brought his toddler into the office.

The baby had a teething ring in its mouth, and the pregnant coworker said "What is that, why is the baby doing that?"

She had no idea that a) babies are born without their teeth in; and b) that when they come in, it can be painful. This is the type of information that you'd think someone who was a few days away from giving birth would know.

I have been told that normally in Japan when someone gets pregnant their own mother would come and take care of basically everything. Anyone experience this?

This is nonsense. If women were ignorant about pregnancy more of them would be getting pregnant.

This is the type of information that you'd think someone who was a few days away from giving birth would know.

No, not necessarily! Apparently some young Japanese mothers go to the doctor to ask why their infants' urine isn't coloured blue, like the diaper commercials on TV.

I hope more couples (in Japan and elsewhere) will practice birth control (before pregnancy, not after) to prevent unplanned or unwanted pregnancies. While visiting the clinic during the birth of my granddaughter, what was originally a joyous time for us was overshadowed by a young (not obviously pregnant) woman being led to the operating room by her (boyfriend?) as she repeatedly cried "I want my baby, I want my baby". Apparently he didn't.

When we decided on having a family we did the parent education preparation thing. I was the Parent who stay at home and my wife continue with her career. I had my daughter toilet train and able wipe herself before she was 2 years old. Eating solid food after 3 months and walking by herself before she was 1 year old. Never did we no trust her and Now she is the Head Nurse at the local hospital. Did the prep course help me? Never NO

When we decided to have our some, we attended all the local parenting courses(granted we were in our 30's at that time).

Still learned a lot plus the other attendants in our group all lived closeby and we were asked to exchange info yo form an informal support group as the ladies were expecting around the same time.

Worked out well, my wife even went back to work(with a change in profession). There is a LOT of local support available from your local ward and my Company (Japanese) had no prob with me taking 2 weeks of leave to support my wife.

Granted we ran into the same problems finding a creche for a 0yr old, which we did at the next train station.