Maternal and child health handbook

1. What is Maternal and Child Health Handbook (Mother and Child Handbook)?
2. Do you always get?
3. Where can I get it?
4. Required documents
5. If you lose your MCH handbook
6. Mother and child notebook app

A maternal and child health handbook (a maternal and child handbook is generally used) for pregnant women. This is a notebook that you can get free of charge from the local government and record the health status of the pregnant mother and the health information from the time of pregnancy to the baby. It will be used more often among babies. If you become pregnant in Japan for the first time, there may be some confusion.
However, the pregnancy test does not mean that you will get the pregnancy immediately.
Let's take a look at the basic knowledge such as “when”, “where” and “issuing method” of the Maternal and Child Health Handbook.

1. What is Maternal and child health book?

The Maternal and Child Health Handbook is officially called the Maternal and Child Health Handbook. Mother and child mean mom and child.
It is necessary to keep records until graduating from elementary school because it is necessary to record from the time of pregnancy to the time of babies and to know when vaccinations were given even in elementary school.
There is also the merit of receiving a maternity certificate.
-You can receive child care support service. Depending on the municipality, you may be able to receive a medical examination with a national subsidy until childbirth or receive vaccination assistance.
Please check the website of your local government.
-Vaccination records are compiled. This allows you to check your child vaccination records when you grow up. The content of the vaccination varies with the times, so it would be helpful to have it.
-Since there is a long record from pregnancy, the record of the maternal and child health handbook will be useful for medical treatment even in an emergency.

This is one of our teams Mother and Child Handbook issued over 30 years ago

2. When can I get Boshi techou

It's time to get a pregnancy check at a medical institution.
In Japan, there is a law "Mother and Child Health Law Article 15: If a woman becomes pregnant, the pregnant woman must promptly (immediately) notify the mayor of the pregnancy."
This is generally the 5th week of pregnancy when you can check your baby's heartbeat. Around this time, the hospital decided on pregnancy, and I know the expected date of birth.
You do not need to be notified when the pregnancy test shows a reaction.
According to a 2017 national survey, “Overview of FY2017 Community Health/Health Promotion Project Report,” approximately 93% of pregnant women reported within 11 weeks.

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/c-hoken/17/dl/gaikyo.pdf

3. Where can I get it?

The Maternal and Child Health Handbook is issued to all women who are pregnant or have a baby in Japan.
Mother and child handbooks are issued at the city hall where you live and at the health center. The delivery location differs depending on the local government, so please confirm the correct information on the website of the municipal office in your area.
Depending on the congestion in the area, some places will issue it within 30 minutes to 1 hour. Let's have some time.

4. Necessary documents

Basically, the following items are required to issue a MCH handbook.
・Pregnancy notification form
・My number card confirmation documents
・Identification documents
・ Power of attorney (only when acting by proxy)

Required documents may differ depending on the local government.
Mainly fill in the following information on the pregnancy notification form.
Pregnant woman's name, age, contact information
Expected date of birth
Name of hospital/doctor who was diagnosed with pregnancy

This is in case of Meguro city, Tokyo.

Recently, cases such as a case for holding a mother's handbook have been sold.
It is very cute and can be used to keep your notebook neatly, so it is used by many pregnant women.

5. When you lose 

It is okay if you lose your MCH handbook.
If you apply at the window where you received the issue (issue), you can get the issue again.
Usually, it is generally free. Some local governments may require a seal stamp and identity verification documents for reissuance, so please check in advance.
In addition, hospitals have an obligation to keep medical records for several years. Ask an obstetrician/gynecologist or pediatrician to discuss the situation and request if you can fill in the data.

6. Applications for Boshi Kenkou techou

Recently, the MCH handbook application is also widely used. There are not many yet, but there are cases where local governments have introduced it, and there are areas where you can check information from local governments and hospitals.
You can record your baby's growth in a graph, manage vaccinations, etc., and leave information in the cloud, which is very convenient for parenting.
For more information, ask your local government.

Conclusion

How was that?
Your first pregnancy in Japan may be anxious.
I think that I could confirm how I can get it by looking at the method of creating the maternal and child's notebook that I described this time. Depending on the local government, there is also a window for foreigners, so you may be guided there.
Please keep a record of your important babies in the MCH handbook and have a safe and healthy baby.