To Tackle a Baby Shortage, Tokyo Tries Easing the Pain of Childbirth

TOKYO—When Moeko Nishimura was preparing for the birth of her second child last year, she dreaded a rerun of the intense pain and slow recovery she experienced when her first child, a girl, was born in 2019.

So when the time came, she opted for an epidural. Though common in the U.S. and many parts of Europe, the pain-relief procedure is much rarer in Japan, where some believe that women who endure childbirth without pain-relief enjoy closer bonds with their children.