Once your pregnancy is confirmed, you should register your pregnancy at the city hall (local government office or Yakusho/Yakuba) of your residency(区役所 Ku-yakusho、市役所 Shi-yakusho、町役場 Machi-yakuba、村役場 Mura-yakuba). By convention, this process is done once your baby`s heart beat is confirmed, which is five to six weeks after the conception.
First, you should get the pregnancy registration form (妊娠届出書 Nin-shin todokede-sho) and fill that out. You can get the form at the city hall of your residency or an obstetric-gynecology clinic. Some districts` government has PDF of the form on their website that you can download. The format of the pregnancy registration form slightly differ between different districts but essentially you should fill this out by giving your name, your spouse or partner`s name and your occupation. Here is a sample registration form;
https://www.city.minato.tokyo.jp/chiikihoken/kenko/ninshin/ninshin/documents/ninshintodokedesho_1.pdf
Once you fill out the form, you should submit it to the city hall of your residency. The most city halls have a counter specialized for this matter. If you show the registration form at their information desk, they will tell you which counter you should go to.
Often, these counter issue a number slip from a machine to keep order of those visiting the office. When it is your turn to go to the counter, they will call out your number. If you do not understand Japanese, pay attention to the display above each counter or ask somebody to tell you when your number is called out.
Once, you submit the form and they will tell you if the form is completely filled and, if not, they will tell you which part is missing. Once they accept that form, you will receive;
- Mother and Child Health Hand Book (母子手帳 Boshi-techo)
- Prenatal Health Check Coupon Book (妊婦健診補助券 Ninpu-kenshin Hojo Ken)
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Pregnancy key chain or badge (マタニティマーク Maternity Mark)
Mother and Child Health Book is a record book for health checkups, vaccination and hospital visits for you and your child. An idea is to keep these essential health information in one place. Until recently, it is used until a child turns six years old or start going to an elementary school. Since 2012, the period of its use was extended to the time your child turns 18 years old.
Your prenatal check up will start at 11 weeks or 3 month. Later we will cover prenatal check up in details. But, remember, the coupon book cover total 12 visits of the prenatal checkup. Prenatal checkup is one thing that is not covered by the universal health care system, which is usually applied to illness or injury. So, don`t lose it and use at each checkup. Otherwise, they will ask you to pay from your pocket.
Finally, the pregnancy key chain or badge is a little item to let others around you know that you are pregnant. This is particularly appealing in public transportation. These days, “priority seats” are clearly marked in the train and bus in Japan, and pregnant women is a category of those who should receive the priority. People are supposed to allow pregnant women as well as elderly and disable person to take these seats. Although it is not always the case that people give away their priority seats to pregnant women, but people are fully aware of this, and in many cases, people allow you to take the priority seats if they see the pregnancy key chain or badge.
My wife usually drives a car and does not take public transportation as much. But, she still put the pregnancy key chain with her when she went out. She liked the logo and told me that she felt a sense of joy and pride by doing so.
Congratulations again to become a new mom.