TOKYO — “I believe I’m likely six months pregnant, based on when my last period was.”
One day, this message was received through the Line counseling account managed by Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto city. Jikei Hospital provides confidential childbirth services.
The sender was Haruka (using a pseudonym), a teenager in her late teens residing in the Kanto area of eastern Japan. When a store-bought test confirmed her pregnancy, it was already too late for an abortion, and she had lost touch with her partner.
After completing junior high school, she left her home and started working at a restaurant that provided accommodation. Her parents had separated when she was still a child. She lived with her father, but he turned aggressive whenever he was in a bad mood. Her mother had also said coldly, “If you create problems, I’ll send you to a facility.”
If she informed her parents about her pregnancy, she would face abuse. She was uncertain about what they might do to her or the child she was carrying. Her WhatsApp messages showed extreme anxiety.
With no one to rely on, Haruka “continued to search” online, and a generative AI suggested a secret birth at Jikei Hospital. In a regular delivery, the hospital informs the family and reports the parents’ identities to administrative authorities, but in a confidential birth, this information is disclosed only to the hospital staff involved. She informed the hospital staff that she wished to give birth under this system and took a bullet train to Kumamoto.
A dangerous situation would have arisen if she had given birth alone.
At the hospital, she was identified as being at risk for early labor and required bed rest. The hospital had concerns about admitting a minor for a private birth, but Haruka seemed to have withdrawn, and when questioned about her parents, she started scratching her arms, showing clear signs of distress. Hospital director Takeshi Hasuda chose to accept her, believing that “if we contacted her parents, the negative consequences for her and the baby would be significant.”
During childbirth, the baby’s heart rate decreased, leading to the use of a vacuum extractor. Had she given birth without assistance, it would have been “a high-risk situation,” potentially endangering the baby’s life, Hasuda stated.
Two days following her childbirth, Haruka finally expressed, “I want to see the baby.” She left her bed, took the child into her arms, and with tears in her eyes, whispered, “So adorable. I wish I could keep looking forever.”
However, she had no financial flexibility and no family she could depend on. “For the baby’s sake, I believe it would be better if someone else raises the child,” she thought, and eventually chose to place the child with others. Procedures then started for a special adoption.
At the very least, she wished to convey her thanks that the baby had arrived, and her sadness that she couldn’t care for the child, so she left a letter for the baby. After leaving the hospital, Haruka said to the staff member in charge, “I was helped by the confidential birth system, and by everyone at this hospital.”
Since the introduction of confidential births at Jikei Hospital in December 2019, approximately 70 children have been born under this system. However, the legal structure related to confidential births is still not well-established, and those working on the front lines are urging for more assistance.
(Japanese original by Saori Moriguchi, Political News Division)
