Tag - pregnancy

 
Menu
Search
 
July 01, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

PREGNANCY

Takeshi Hasuda, head of Jikei Hospital in the city of Kumamoto, speaks during a news conference in Kobe on Jan. 29.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 13, 2026
Experts raise alarm over women giving birth alone
Access to anonymous childbirth services — currently available in only two medical institutions nationwide — is essential for protecting both mothers and newborns, they say.
An oral drug for chronic kidney disease and heart failure has also been found effective in treating premature ovarian insufficiency, according to a study by a team including researchers from Juntendo University in Japan and the University of Hong Kong.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 10, 2026
Kidney drug found to be effective for infertility treatment
The team expects the discovery to lead to a new infertility therapy.
Hikaru Fujita, a candidate for parliament, in Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture. Fujita is a standout in a country where expectant mothers rarely enter national politics.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 7, 2026
She’s upending Japanese politics with two words: ‘I’m pregnant’
Hikaru Fujita is a standout in a country where expectant mothers rarely enter national politics.
From Monday, NorLevo, an emergency contraceptive pill marketed by Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare, can be purchased over the counter at approximately 5,400 pharmacies and drugstores nationwide.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 2, 2026
Morning-after pill becomes available over the counter, in a first for Japan
Under the new rules, only the person who will take the medication may buy it, and it must be taken in the presence of a pharmacist after receiving an explanation.
Shogi player Kana Fukuma speaks at a news conference about issues with Japan Shogi Association rules governing pregnant women, in Osaka on Dec. 10.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 19, 2025
In Japan, a shogi player opens a debate on motherhood and the ‘game of generals’
Kana Fukuma says new rules governing female shogi players would have forced her to choose between her career and having a second child.
Over-the-counter sales of emergency contraceptive pill Norlevo will begin in February.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 18, 2025
Japan to start OTC sales of emergency contraception in February
Daiichi Sankyo’s drug, Norlevo, will mark the first time such a pill will be available without a prescription in Japan.
With concerns rising over babies whose genetic makeup has been altered to accommodate the parents' preferences, the government aims to submit related legislation during next year's ordinary parliamentary session at the earliest.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2025
Japan eyes ban on gene-edited babies
The government aims to submit related legislation during next year’s ordinary parliamentary session at the earliest.
To address the economic burden on expectant and nursing mothers, the health ministry plans to set a nationwide uniform amount for childbirth expenses, then fully cover it with health insurance.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 4, 2025
Japan to give full insurance coverage for childbirth costs
Childbirth costs have continued to rise due to factors such as inflation, with the nationwide average in fiscal 2024 hitting ¥519,805.
Child care space at the Yuarito Day private postnatal care facility, on Oct. 20 in Tokyo's Chuo Ward
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2025
Postnatal care shortages emerge in Japan as demand grows
Provided by midwives and trained caregivers, such services offer hands-on child care assistance or short-term newborn care so families can rest and recover.
Aska Pharmaceutical's emergency contraceptive pill Norlevo has been approved for over-the-counter sales by the health ministry.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 20, 2025
Japan approves emergency contraceptive pill for over-the-counter sales
Aska Pharmaceutical’s Norlevo is the first emergency contraceptive pill to be approved for sale without a prescription in the country.
Over half of financially struggling pregnant women and new mothers in Japan have no savings, a survey by Save the Children Japan found.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2025
Over half of needy pregnant women in Japan have no savings
An official from Save the Children Japan urged the central and local governments to strengthen their support measures.
Japan previously only allowed preimplantation genetic testing for those who could not get pregnant even after multiple embryo transfers following in vitro fertilization or those who experienced repeated miscarriages and stillbirths.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 9, 2025
Japan expands preimplantation genetic testing eligibility
Eligibility was limited to those who could not get pregnant after embryo transfers following in vitro fertilization or those who experienced repeated miscarriages and stillbirths.
A research team led by the University of Tokyo’s Miyuki Harada has developed artificial intelligence models that can help deliver personalized infertility treatments by predicting the number and quality of eggs that a woman has.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 3, 2025
Japan team develops AI models to help deliver personalized infertility treatment
The group study led by a University of Tokyo researcher found their models to be more accurate than the standard method of assessing ovarian function.
Sayaka Togitani's daughter Hinami was delivered via emergency cesarean section but suffered fetal hypoxia, which left her with a severe disability.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 3, 2025
Family calls for daughter born after car accident to be recognized as a victim
The family of a pregnant woman who died after being hit by a car wants the daughter, born afterward with a severe disability, to be deemed a victim.
The health ministry is considering allowing nationwide pharmacy sales of emergency contraceptive pills without requiring age restrictions or parental approval.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 28, 2025
Japan weighs OTC sales of emergency contraceptive pills without age limit
To ensure proper use, the plan would require that the morning-after pill be taken in the presence of a pharmacist.
Nadia, a military radio operator who served until she was eight and a half months pregnant, with her son Pavlo, 6, at their home in Lubny, Ukraine, on Jan. 28.
WORLD
Aug 28, 2025
Expecting on the front lines: Motherhood in Ukraine’s military
Despite the hardships they face, many pregnant soldiers say they are motivated to serve for the future of Ukraine — and their children.
People with children walk in the sun as the Japanese government issued a heatstroke alert due to a heat wave, in Tokyo, on Aug. 5
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 12, 2025
Heat waves pose serious health risks for pregnant women, study shows
The Tokyo team found that the risk of serious complications for pregnant women increases the day after a heat wave.
One out of every 5,000 births is affected by mitochondrial diseases, which cannot be treated, and include symptoms such as impaired vision, diabetes and muscle wasting.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 17, 2025
World-first IVF trial reduces risk of babies inheriting diseases
The results raise hopes that women with mutations in their mitochondrial DNA could one day have children without passing debilitating or deadly diseases on to the children.
Researchers at the University of Osaka Hospital last year became the first in Japan to conduct surgeries of reducing the number of fetuses in multiple pregnancy as part of clinical research.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 16, 2025
Researchers in Japan conduct multifetal pregnancy reduction surgeries
It is the first time that the procedure has been carried out as clinical research in Japan.
People demonstrate outside the Ministry of Health to demand the right to a safe and free abortion as Non Una di Meno (Not One Less) movement and feminist collectives take part in a protest to mark the International Safe Abortion Day, in Rome on Sept. 28, 2024.
WORLD / Society
Jul 15, 2025
Italy’s abortion taboos challenged by new law in Sicily
More than 80% of gynecologists in Sicily refuse to perform abortions for moral or religious reasons, though the procedure has been a legal right for women in Italy since 1978.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI
Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER