“Birth! A Mystery of Life”
July 2003, The Chunichi Shimbun
The author is the director of
a maternity clinic in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture where next to the clinic in a
Japanese-style room, avoiding medical intervention as much as possible, he
practices a more natural childbirth. In over 40 years, he has attended more than
20,000 births.
The book introduces how deliveries take place in the “House of
Birth”, a traditional Japanese house built in 1999, and talks about his life,
his philosophy and aesthetics on birth and on women’s way of life. It also tells
many stories from his experience as an obstetrician and looks at the true joy of
birth.
Photographs taken by maternity coordinator/photographer Sakae
Kikuchi. October 2003, “Perinatal Care (Magazine)” by Medicus
Shuppan
In a time of low birthrates, advanced medical technology being used
in fertility treatment and childbirth becoming more and more a medical process,
it has become difficult to see birth in its natural form. Meanwhile, there are
more women who wish to feel the true joy of birth through natural
delivery.
Yoshimura Clinic tries to avoid medical intervention as much as
possible allowing mothers to birth naturally. The rates of Caesarean sections,
episiotomy and medical intervention is strikingly low compared to world
standards but in order to achieve this they need the patience to wait and the
attentive care by the medical staff. In obstetrics today which places priority
on economical efficiency and medical management it has become increasingly
difficult to practice this kind of care. It is often said that anything can
happen at birth. These words seem to imply that there is always a chance of some
kind of difficulty occuring at birth. But it is not well known that nature has
more power to turn things into a better direction than people think. Other than
the childbirths at the clinic, the book tells you a lot about Dr. Yoshimura’s
ideas on life and his philosophy and aesthetics on birth. It can be enjoyed not
only as a childbirth guide but also as a book on nature, environment and a way
of life. There are also many photographs which allows you to understand better
the clinic.
Review by maternity coordinator Sakae Kikuchi
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