Warning to prospective parents in Japan

[Mark of Zorro]

Either this country is full of incompetent doctors or its just my area of the country. They are not doing all the proper prenatal testing and they are not qualified.

This means that if you are getting ultrasound done, you should go to two or three different clinics to ensure you are getting the full and correct information.

They may miss congenital heart defects.

They may miss obvious signs of Down's syndrome.

They may miss missing body parts.

Further, they may not perform tests and screenings that should be obvious that they should be doing, such as basic tests on the mother's blood which is totally non-invasive.

The last thing you want to be is the parent of a special needs child in a country that is foreign to you where they don't speak your native tongue. Where you may not have stable and permanent employment. Where you have a limited chain of family support. Where you are not even a second class citizen. Best keep on top of things.

In my time here in Japan I have met a whole zombie host of incompetent quacks. Rule number one when dealing with any Japanese doctor is to assume he or she is an i-d-i-o-t. NEVER forget that rule. Not even for a second. Each and every visit to a Japanese doctor should be exercised with extreme caution and alertness. And that includes something as basic as prenatal testing. They will call you in for many visits, but this is only to take your money. They don't know what the hell they are doing. That is the majority.

I would say they got their licenses out of a Cracker Jack box, but they don't sell Cracker Jack in Japan. And it would be insulting to Cracker Jack, who would only pass out licenses to American kids who probably at least know that aspirin and Tylenol are not the same thing.

Rule number two is to keep the word going. Tell your friends or anyone you care about. These Japanese doctors are ****** morons. Don't let anybody get lax. Warn them. If anyone you know is planning to have a child in this country warn them. Warn them now.

This country had a nuclear disaster just four years ago, and yeah, that is going to mean increased birth defects. But these Japanese quacks are of no use.

 

[johnnyG]

Gee..., now tell us what you really think.

 

[GuyJean]

I had the pleasure with a number of pediatricians here I doubt were capable of tying their own shoes (most were wearing slippers).

Took us quite a while until we could settle with one that we trust knows what he is doing.

Then again it's probably the same in other countries as well.

Leaving aside whether I would agree it not, a lot of my (Japanese) colleagues and friends have told me that only the 'worst' med students become pediatricians in Japan. Lots of mendokusai work and little money. Not many in it for the pure love of curing children's booboos.

Their 'alarm' standards also seem to be a lot higher than what I experienced while I worked in Europe and the ME. Kids with 39.5 degrees fevers were seriously taken care of over there, while when I brought my daughter (1 year old) to the hospital here with the same issue, the doc said we should just watch her for the next 5 hours and if her fever goes over 40, we should come again. I didn't agree personally, then again I didn't study medicine. And well, there are lots of (sorta) healthy Japanese people in the country and they also live longer in average than people anywhere else.

So while I still am skeptical about Japanese pediatricians' decisions when it comes to my own kid, based on what I believe would be better from my experience abroad and what I was told, there definitely are a few great ones out there. Happy to give you the name of the clinic, but they don't do consultation in English.

 

[Mark of Zorro]

Gee..., now tell us what you really think.

Bucking for useless post of the week award? Prove me right or prove me wrong. Your choice which side to take, or even something down the middle. Just say something that freaking goes somewhere, okay?

 

[johnnyG]

Bucking for useless post of the week award? Prove me right or prove me wrong. Your choice which side to take, or even something down the middle. Just say something that freaking goes somewhere, okay?

Well, you use words like zombie, i-d-i-o-t & ****** morons for doctors, talk about incompetent quacks and crackerjack box licenses, and you actually think my post is useless? And that I would then have to prove your tirade right or wrong? Pot, meet kettle.

***

Our kids are now in their 20s, and they survived pediatricians here. Actually, I think it was daycare (保育園 and within months of birth, not 幼稚園) that gave them their early exposure to a lot of dirt, other kids, food cooked on site, and of course all the various associated microbes there. Occasional fevers and so on, but they never had anything serious. (and still haven't)

Most of the parents at daycare used the same doc(s), maybe because the clinic was only about 50m away, but probably because they were good. Two docs over the years, one older gentleman who then retired, replaced by a younger woman (who had kids).

No complaints at all. And really quite thankful that we did it here.

(Just guessing, but maybe you also have a language problem?)

 

[Mark of Zorro]

So your retort is that Japanese doctors found no defects with your children because there were none to detect?

You do realize the main gist of my post had to do with detecting defects right?

Okay. Probably not. Did you actually read my post or just skim?

 

[johnnyG]

The main gist of your post was inflammatory name-calling.

Oh, and you niggled with repeated "They may..." several times.

 

[Mark of Zorro]

The main gist of your post was inflammatory name-calling.

Oh, and you niggled with repeated "They may..." several times.

You should focus on other details....such as the difference between an obstetrician and a pediatrician.

A deathly serious quality of life issue trumps name-calling by the way. But I suspect that point is over your head too.

 

[Mark of Zorro]

(Just guessing, but maybe you also have a language problem?)

My Japanese is better than even most long term foreigners I meet here. I never expected a Japanese doctor to speak English to me. I understand plenty, and have told Japanese doctors their jobs in their language. That said, if they knew English, or German, heck, Spanish or even French, they may have been able to study somewhere in the world where medicine is at a modern level, and become competent doctors.

 

[Dotanbatan]

For the sake of balance I want to put forward my opinion and experiences for other readers and prospective parents to see.

We have had two children born in Japan at different hospitals and the quality of care from the doctors and nurses was faultless. During pregnancy my wife had monthly scans (sometimes more frequently) with regular blood tests and a full consultation each time, addressing any concerns.

I`ve visited clinics and hospitals numerous times in Japan for myself and my family and can only remember one occasion where I was unhappy with the service, and that was just that I found his attitude aloof and arrogant. He did his job well though, even if he isn`t going to win any Mr nice guy awards.

I also personally know a good number of Japanese Medical practitioners ... all of them being dedicated to their profession, highly trained and extremely intelligent.

My advice to prospective parents in Japan is the same as it would be in any country. Make some inquiries with other couples who have hadchildren in your area. If after visiting the clinic, you do have concerns, talk about them with the doctor and if not happy, change to another one.

Things tend to take a bit longer and are done differently here, but you`ll find that, across the board really, whether it`s with bank or post office transactions, completion of a business contract or just about any other area of life here.

Mark of Zorro:
I believe your antagonistic attitude to anyone who doesn`t share the same values as you or does things differently to your expectations, is painting an incorrect picture to people who have not used Japan`s medical services.

 

[Mark of Zorro]

During pregnancy my wife had monthly scans (sometimes more frequently) with regular blood tests and a full consultation each time, addressing any concerns.

And, again, nothing detected because there was nothing to detect.

Critical thinking seems to be quite passe recently.

I also personally know a good number of Japanese Medical practitioners ... all of them being dedicated to their profession, highly trained and extremely intelligent.

And they always let you know when they (explicative) up, right?

can only remember one occasion where I was unhappy with the service,

Yes, yes. I am sure your minor medical problems were well taken care off.

I was talking about things that require a bit of skill. Failure to detect non-existent problems is not a skill. The treatment of cuts and bruises is not much of one.

And the art of being specific seems to be a lost one, aside from pointing out that one doctor was arrogant and aloof of course.

 

[Mark of Zorro]

I believe your antagonistic attitude to anyone who doesn`t share the same values as you or does things differently to your expectations, is painting an incorrect picture to people who have not used Japan`s medical services.

Sounds to me like you believe my allegation of incompetence is grounded in some unrelated personal problem, like I don't like the way they look or smell or something. Believe me, that's not it. I have run into many who simply cannot do their jobs and I keep getting proof of the fact.

Look, if you grabbed some homeless guy off the streets and cleaned him up and put him in an obstetrics clinic and had him tell every prospective mother that she and her unborn baby were fine, 95 percent of the time he would be totally correct. Its the 5 percent that are not fine that count and that is the measure of success and that is where these Japanese or central Japan obstetricians are not cutting the mustard.

 

[Mark of Zorro]

From wiki: Birth in Japan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Genetic screening tests, such as amniocentesis, are available in Japan but rarely used.[7] Contrary to US culture, the idea of having a "normal" or "abnormal" fetus is not as much a part of the traditional Japanese conception of pregnancy. Rather, the Japanese paradigm sees a fetus as inherently a work in progress, or "perfectible."[17] Ob-gyns rarely initiate open discussion of the possibility of undergoing amniocentesis or triple marker tests with pregnant patients. In fact, the Health Ministry issued guidelines in 1999 according to which ob-gyns have no obligation to inform patients of these tests. Having an abortion due to fetal abnormalities is very rare. Some theorize that the reason for this is because the role of mother is so highly valued, while others suggest that women, freed from the pressure of holding down a job during motherhood, are less daunted by the time required to care for a child with additional needs.[18]

 

[Mark of Zorro]

At the top of the page I am seeing an ad for an online echocardiography course. (facepalm)