Comments on: Getting Pregnant in Japan - Part Four: Do Japanese Mums need less Calcium?

By: Stanley

Stanley — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:20:19 +0000

You might also want to check out this note from the US Embassy in Japan:

What About Having a Baby in Japan?

One resource you may wish to look into is “From Pregnancy to Childcare: How to Prepare for Childcare in Japan,” available as a video (Y3000; 30 minutes, available in Japanese, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese) or in text form (Y1500; English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese versions available, 50 pages including Japanese translation) from the AMDA International Medical Information Center.

See homepage3.nifty.com/amdack/english/E-contents/E-chira.html for more details, or call AMDA International Medical Information Center Tokyo at 03-5285-8086 or AMDA International Medical Information Center Kansai at 06-4395-0555.

By: masamunecyrus

masamunecyrus — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:12:54 +0000

I wouldn’t be too worried about most of those vitamins as we’re looking at less than several milligrams of difference in most of them. As mentioned above, a multi-vitamin sounds like a good idea, and Japan has more multi-vitamin gel drinks that I know what to do with.

I think you touched on a good point, though — the calcium difference, even percentage-wise, is troubling. I would agree that Japanese people as a whole do not get enough calcium, and it is very commonly said that there is no such thing as too much calcium. In the end, my opinion is that no one deserves to become bent at 90 degree angles like a significant portion of the Japanese elderly.

By: phauna

phauna — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:45:35 +0000

Just get your wife to take a pregnancy vitamin supplement, like Blackmores Breastfeeding and Pregnancy Multivitamin.

By: red

red — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:06:29 +0000

finally, after a long wait (and much “hands on” experience in the baby front), life is slowly getting back to normal and so I’ve published part 5 in the series:
http://www.stippy.com/japan-life/getting-pregnant-in-japan-5/

By: Kate

Kate — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:30:50 +0000

I know this post is old but..
I am a gaijin Mum, husband is Japanese
we have a very healthy toddler
I ate only Japanese diet during pregnancy, for several reasons
Me and my siblings are always sick and prone to colds etc
My husband and his 4 siblings are always healthy
Yes his Mum had 5 kids! She only ate Japanese food and when I was pregnant stipulated I did too, crunchy little fish, tofu, natto, miso soup with the wakame in it, She said the wakame helps to bring in the milk too for breastfeeding
It also cleanses your body of toxins to eat some type of seaweed everyday (thats why the people who ate such a diet after the Nagasaki bombings didnt get as sick as mainland people)
Although there are studies showing negative results from soy, I just think that Japanese and indeed Chinese have a much longer history than ours and a much longer life expentancy also…..

The most important thing is to have a balance and also remember your rainbow of colours in your diet, purple, orange, red, yellow, green etc,,,,

By: Jotham

Jotham — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:36:33 +0000

its amazing that any of us are here today! if our mothers or grandmothers didn’t have all this infomation and vitamin RDIs and supplements how o gods earth did any of us survive?! eat “healthy”, have a “balanced diet” and cut down on the boxing…
from Gaijin dad to be

By: Paternity Leaf

Paternity Leaf — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:48:42 +0000

While it’s not exactly the same theme as you’re refering to Melanie, there are definately some interesting things being recommended by Japanese Doctors at the moment. Apparently it is a “trend” to have a small baby these days. They say “give birth to a small baby and it will grow up to be a big one”. Whereas most cultures talk about putting on anywhere between 10-20kg during pregnancy (and not feeling guilty), you are actively made to feel guilty in Japan if you breach 10kg. Apparently the rationalization is that the smaller the baby, the easier it is to go through the birth canal. If it is easy to go through the birth canal then there will be less stress on the baby during birth and so it will be more genki. To top it all off there seems to be some stigma attached to large baby. Anything over about 3,500g is referred to as a kyodaiji (giant baby) and is deemed to be bad (generally the assumption is that the baby will have a high risk of mental problems).
I’m not sure where the rationalization comes for that one but it just seemed like another way of adding to the stress of a first time Mother. It’s hard to please your Doctor with such high standards. Just remind your wife that whatever she does, how ever big the baby is, she’ll be alright and the baby will be alright. It’s hard to mess up a baby - evolution has made sure of that.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 03:33:08 +0000

Yes, calcium is very important during pregnancy, but it’s not the only thing and it all starts to get rather complicated….

As a few people mentioned folic acid is vital and so is zinc and iron.

A number of years ago, I had a Japanese student come to me looking terrible. I was worried if I breathed on her she’d fall over she was so thin, and she was as pale as a ghost. She told me that she was pregnant and her doctor had told her she was highly anemic. Horrified I asked if they had put her on iron suppliments, she said they hadn’t, but she’d been told to drink more milk.

What the!!!

While calcium is important, it’s consumption should be isolated to different times of the day and iron-rich food should be eaten at others. Calcium inhibits the absorbtion of iron. Sadly, a few weeks later, she lost the baby.

Having said all that, I believe that some gentle suggestions are good while a woman is pregnant, but not stressing her out is also very important.

Good luck with it all and I’m sure you’ll have a beautiful, healthy baby before you know it.

By: Richmond

Richmond — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 03:07:25 +0000

A friend of mine (who is a nurse) was saying that in the West you are told not to eat any kind of liver (and pate etc) because it has Vitamin A which is bad for your baby. I have no idea what that means for liver of sea toad but as far as I know liver is recommended to most Japanese Mums as a great source of iron. Apparently they used to do the same in the West until about 20 years ago when they discovered the negative side effects of Vitamin A on the fetus. Scary stuff really.

By: Akazaru

Akazaru — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:19:42 +0000

Unfortunately, as with all things medical, its a little more complicated than this (and truth be told we still don’t know as much as we would like to). But a few points to consider

1) Calcium is actually really complicated. It’s hard to define an RDI because there is no clinical syndrome (except maybe osteoporosis to an extent, see below) or biochemical test that purely reflects low Calcium intake.
During pregnancy, there is increased calcium absorption in the mother’s intestines to supply calcium to the fetus. Also, excessively large intake of Calcium (eg “OD’ing” on supplements) can result in raised Calcium in the blood and urine, Kidney stones, and constipation. So as with all things, sensible moderation is the key

2) We aren’t all the same
e.g. Asians have far higher rates of Lactose Intolerance (making dairy products inappropriate sources of Calcium in many instances)
Different ethinicities (esp skin colour) have different rates of Vit D production
While I’m not sure about Vit metabolism, I know drug metabolism varies between ethnicities (so its not unreasonable to assume the same for Vits)
- Having said that, I do agree that Japanese perceptions (esp lay perceptions) of inter-ethnic differences are not usually based on hard science (eg I’ve never seen any studies that show Japanese intestines are different in length to gaijin intestines!!)

3) Wrt osteoporsis in women, I think the main influence is the loss of oestrogen’s protective effects on bone after menopause. It is also related to (under-) activity in older life (mechanical forces assist with bone remodelling) and as you eluded to, a lack of “laying down” of Calcium in younger years. Osteoporosis is a big problem in Japan (and other countires with aging populations as well). The main point here is that its an old person’s problem (rather than pregnant women)

4) Yes, Folate is VERY IMPORTANT. Women planning to get pregnant should be taking Folate both before (for about a month) and during (esp first trimester) pregnancy.

Lastly if you have any worries, then SEE A DOCTOR. That’s what they’re for. Even if they’re not sure, they should be able to put you onto someone (eg Dietician) that does know. If you can’t find a Doctor, access REPUTABLE websites (ones run by government departments or well-established professional bodies, as their information is usually evidence-based)

Hope this helps.