Japanese vs American Childbirth

Transcultural nursing is a critical component of the nursing profession in an ever-changing culturally diverse world. The patient’s social and cultural dissimilarities are important for the nurse to recognize and acknowledge. This will help to prevent the imposition of the nurse’s beliefs onto the patient. The Japanese culture beliefs are incommensurable to American cultural beliefs in how they approach the process of labor and delivery. Nursing interventions should therefore be reflective and comprehensible to that of the Japanese cultural beliefs.

Japanese and American Cultural Approaches to Labor and Delivery

In Japan there is not a lot of emphasis on prenatal care. It is thought to be adequate for the mother to be seen 3-4 times throughout her pregnancy. An ultrasound of the baby is sometimes deemed necessary by her midwife or obstetrician. The ultrasound is only used for the purpose of taking a closer look at the mother’s reproductive anatomy or the anatomy of the baby. In the Japanese culture it is considered taboo and quite rude for the ultrasound technician or medical provider to tell the mother the sex of her baby.

In American culture during the first 8 months of pregnancy the woman will have monthly scheduled prenatal visits. At the beginning of the 8th month she will have biweekly prenatal visits. During the 38th week she will transition into weekly prenatal visits until the baby is born. If the patient has a high risk pregnancy her prenatal visits may occur more frequently. The frequency of high risk prenatal visits will depend on the provider and the complication associated with the pregnancy. During high risk prenatal visits the patient will generally have more specialized test to monitor her health as well as t...

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