Pregnant women fleeing to Kansai

OSAKA — Kansai area hospitals and the Osaka Prefectural Government say a growing number of pregnant women from the devastated Tohoku region, as well as some in Tokyo worried about the possible effects of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear crisis, are moving to the area to give birth.

In the aftermath of the March 11 quake and tsunami, and amid fears in Tokyo of increased radiation levels in the tap water and air, many residents of eastern Japan have temporarily relocated to the Kansai region, especially pregnant women.

The Osaka Prefectural Government said late last week that 149 women from Tokyo and Chiba, Kanagawa, Fukushima, and Miyagi prefectures had arrived in Osaka hospitals to give birth since the disaster, and forecast that the number could increase. Among them, 58 were from Tokyo, where the discovery last week of high levels of radioactive iodine in the water supply led officials to issue a precautionary warning that infants should not drink tap water or milk formula made with tap water.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government lifted the warning Thursday after the level of iodine fell, but as of Saturday, parts of Fukushima, Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures were still being advised not to give infants tap water, according to the health ministry.

Radiation readings in both Tokyo and around the Fukushima plant are well below what experts consider dangerous to human health. But the government and media are sending out mixed messages, telling people the levels are not dangerous and yet warning about possible harm to infants.

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