For New Years, my wife and I brought our baby back to her hometown, a small city in southern Japan. My daughter was born in a small hospital there, while I stayed elsewhere and continued to work.
Even then I felt a little pushed away, although my wife and I had agreed that this was the safest. There were two famous incidents recently of pregnant women being denied admittance into Japanese hospitals due to shortage of beds, and the women (and also their unborn children) died as a result (The link is from Russia, because Japanese newspapers have decided the news is too “old” to be online any more!). In doctor-short Japan, we definitely wanted to avoid this tragedy. Luckily, the hospital in my wife’s hometown had excellent staff, including a father-son combination who had both received medical training overseas. And more importantly, we were able to make a reservation well in advance. And my wife’s sister had already had all three of her children at the hospital without mishap.
Taking Leave 