Medical check-ups during your pregnancy

Periodic medical check-ups （定期健康診査, teiki kenkou shinsa）

Periodic medical check-ups （also called 妊娠検診, ninshin kenshin） are to check the health and growth of both mother and child. Pregnancy brings many changes to the body, and there may be trouble lurking even if you don’t feel any strange symptoms. To prepare for a normal delivery, you should periodically visit the doctor following the schedule written below. However, if you experience bleeding or stomach pains, or if things just feel “funny” then you should see a doctor immediately.

1. Until the 23^rd week （end of the 6^th month）……Once a month
2. Weeks 24 – 35 （months 7-9）……Once every two weeks
3. Week 36 until birth （month 10）……Once a week

*In Japan, pregnancies are usually measured in 10 months, not nine.

Finding a doctor

Many women in Japan choose a specific Ob/Gyn office or Ladies Clinic to visit while pregnant, so that they will always visit the same doctor. Some clinics and other offices may not have the facilities for delivering a baby, in which case you would also find a nearby hospital that you can be admitted to. Sometimes people have to try two or three clinics before finding the right fit.

If you’d like to search for a doctor who can speak English, you can use the following link at the Iwate Medical Net.
Choose your area, desired language, and then check the boxes in the Obstetrics & Gynecology Group to see if there is a doctor near you.

• Search for a doctor（外部リンク）

You may also wish to ask around for advice.

The tests at a typical check-up

All of the tests taken at a check-up are important for knowing the health of both mother and child.

For example, a blood type test is taken to prepare in case there is a large loss of blood during childbirth. If the mother is Rh negative, the baby will end up not having the same blood type, raising their chances of anemia and jaundice. Blood type tests before birth help to prevent this. Another case would be an antigen test for hepatitis B – a mother with hepatitis B may pass the virus on to their baby during delivery. If the infection is confirmed in the mother, then they will be able to inoculate the baby soon after birth with immunoglobulin and vaccines.

As you can see, every test has its own meaning. If there is anything you don’t understand, always feel free to ask your doctor.

*Other tests may be run as needed.

（1）Tests in the first trimester

Japanese	Reading	English
血液検査	Ketsueki kensa	Blood test
血液型-ABO 式	Ketsuekigata ABOshiki	ABO blood type
血液型Rh式	Ketsuekigata Rh shiki	Rh blood type
不規則抗体検査	Fukisoku koutai kensa	Irregular antibody examination
貧血の有無	Hinketsu no umu	Test for anemia
梅毒血清反応	Baidoku kessei hannou	Test for syphilis （serological reaction）
B 型肝炎ウイルス抗原検査	Bgata kanen uirusu kougen kensa	Test for Hepatitis B （detection of HBs antigen）

Anemia tests take place once every trimester.

（2）Tests given every check-up

Japanese	Reading	English
子宮底の長さ・腹囲の測定	Shikyuutei no nagasa, fukui no sokutei	Measurement of uterine fundal height and abdominal circumference
胎児の大きさ・位置	Taiji no ookisa, ichi	Measurement and location of the fetus
胎児心音の確認	Taiji shinon no kakunin	Confirm fetal heartbeat
体重測定	Taijuu sokutei	Measure body weight
血圧測定	Ketsuatsu sokutei	Measure blood pressure
尿検査（たんぱく・糖）	Nyokensa （tanpaku, tou）	Urine test （proteins, sugar）
むくみの有無	Mukumi no umu	Check for swelling

（3）Tests given if needed during pregnancy

Japanese	Reading	English
超音波検査（胎児発育・胎盤の位置・羊水量・子宮頸管長など）	Chouonpa kensa （Taiji hatsuiku, taiban no ichi, yousuiryou, shikyuu keikanchou nado）	Ultrasound （fetal growth, placenta location, amount of amniotic fluid, measurement of the cervical canal, etc）
胎児・胎盤機能検査（NST）	Taiji, taiban kinou kensa （NST）	Fetoplacental function test （NST）
心電図	Shindenzu	Electrocardiogram
胸部エックス線撮影	Kyoubu ekkususen satsuei	Chest x-ray
肝機能・腎機能検査	Kankinou, jinkinou kensa	Test of liver/kidney function
骨盤エックス線検査	Kotsuban ekkususen kensa	Pelvic x-ray
血糖値	Kettouchi	Blood sugar level
血液凝固検査	Ketsueki gyouko kensa	Blood coagulation test
C型肝炎ウイルス抗体検査	Cgata kenen uirusu koutai kensa	Test for Hepatitis C
風しんウイルス抗体検査	Fuushin uirusu koutai kensa	Test for rubella
トキソプラズマ抗体検査	Tokisopurazuma koutai kensa	Test for toxoplasma
HIVウイルス抗体検査	HIV uirusu koutai kensa	Test for HIV
クラミジア抗原抗体検査	Kuramijia kougen koutai kensa	Test for chlamydia