Tokyo Conducts Survey at Over 150 Hospitals by October
Checking Costs and Medical Staff Numbers... Governor Koike's Pledge
Use Rate of Painless Injections: Korea 60%, Japan 11%
Tokyo Metropolitan Government in Japan is set to conduct a survey on the actual use of epidural anesthesia that alleviates pain for mothers during childbirth. As the prevailing notion that "a woman only becomes a mother after enduring pain" gradually changes, the government is expected to consider supporting epidural anesthesia, which has been a non-insured item.
According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun and other sources, Tokyo will conduct a survey related to epidural anesthesia at about 150 obstetrics and gynecology clinics and medical facilities by next month. The survey will cover the number of medical staff involved in childbirth, the number of epidural deliveries performed, the cost of epidural anesthesia, and responses during cesarean sections. This survey is part of a pledge made by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike in July.
Epidural anesthesia is an anesthetic injected into the spine to reduce labor pain and contractions during childbirth. The pain relief effect lasts about 1 to 2 hours. The rate of epidural deliveries in Korea is approximately 60%. Western countries such as the United States and France have higher rates than Korea, and China is known to have a rate in the 30% range.
In Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's 2020 survey showed the epidural delivery rate at 8.6%. Although this is an increase from 2.6% in 2008, the rate remains relatively low compared to other countries. A survey conducted last year by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology recorded the rate at 11%, with Tokyo Metropolitan Government having the highest rate among Japan’s prefectures at about 30%.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government believes that the low rate of epidural deliveries in Japan is due to economic factors. The average cost of childbirth at public hospitals in Tokyo was about 560,000 yen (approximately 5.26 million won) in 2022, but epidural anesthesia adds an extra 100,000 to 200,000 yen. In fact, a survey by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that 2 out of 10 respondents gave up on epidural anesthesia due to the high cost.
The social atmosphere in Japan has also been cited as one of the reasons why epidural deliveries have spread slowly. Sankei Shimbun reported that the prevailing beliefs such as "enduring labor pain is a virtue" and "without labor pain, one cannot feel affection for the baby" have long been entrenched.
Meanwhile, besides Tokyo, the Japanese government is also discussing with experts whether to include childbirth costs, including epidural anesthesia, under health insurance coverage to address the declining birthrate issue. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare plans to compile and organize the discussion results by early next year.
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