KUMAMOTO -- A total of 38 "confidential births," in which women with unplanned pregnancies give birth after only revealing their identities to hospital staff, have taken place over the past three years, the only hospital in Japan that offers the system announced on Nov. 28.

At a press conference, Takeshi Hasuda, director of Jikei Hospital in the city of Kumamoto, emphasized the effectiveness of the practice in protecting newborns' lives, and called for setting up a facility capable of confidential births in each of Japan's 47 prefectures.

The first case of such a birth there was in December 2021, and according to the hospital, the age breakdown of the 38 mothers was: nine under 19, 26 in their 20s and three in their 30s or older. Their locations of residence ranged across the country, including three in Kumamoto Prefecture, 10 in the Kyushu region other than Kumamoto, 13 in east Japan's Kanto region and five in the western Kinki region.

Twenty-nine of those women cited not wanting either or both of their parents to know as the reason for choosing a confidential birth. Meanwhile, there were 14 cases in which the women changed their minds after delivery, taking the baby back among other actions to retract confidentiality. The health status of 36 of the 38 babies was good, while one required medical treatment and one died after developing pneumonia.

Hasuda said, "When a woman gives birth alone in secret, she goes into an extreme state of stress, leading to abandonment or murder of the baby. I am increasingly convinced that confidential birth is a safety net that can protect them before that happens." On the other hand, "Some women come from far away and just barely make it in time to give birth," he said, calling for the establishment of facilities offering that style of birth in locations throughout the country.

Hasuda also reported a case in which a woman who had become pregnant through rape and suffered emotional damage consulted the hospital about a confidential birth, but the facility decided not to accept her because she had a physical disability that was difficult to deal with and had someone locally to support her. The woman's child later died in utero, and the woman killed herself.

Hasuda said, "We regret our response. We will do our best to accept such women without making excuses."

The Tokyo-based social welfare corporation San-ikukai is aiming to introduce a system for confidential births by March 2025.

(Japanese original by Atsushige Nakamura, Kumamoto Bureau)