A is a handbook issued by Japanese

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

as stipulated by the Maternal and Child Health Act to record the health conditions of mothers and children throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare. It also serves as a primary resource book of health guidance for expectant and nursing mothers and infants, as well as a child-rearing textbook for parents of infants and toddlers. The first half of the handbook includes a section for recording pregnancy and childbirth, and for a newborn baby, there is a section for periodic health examinations, immunizations (

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

pertussis Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or ...

tetanus Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'', and is characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually ...

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

, etc.), and dental examinations until the child enters elementary school. The latter half is designed by each

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, taking advantage of the regional characteristics. __TOC__

Overview

Those who become pregnant must promptly notify the head of the municipality of their pregnancy (Maternal and Child Health Act, Article 15), and upon receipt of the notification, the municipality shall issue them a ''Maternal and Child Health Handbook'' (Maternal and Child Health Act, Article 16, Clause 1). The handbook can be issued regardless of nationality or age. The following information must be included in the notification of pregnancy (Enforcement Regulations of the Maternal and Child Health Act, Article 3). * Notification date * Name, age, My Number (the Japanese social security number), and occupation * Place of residence * Months of pregnancy * Name of physician or midwife, if any, who has provided diagnosis or health guidance * Whether or not the applicant has undergone medical examinations for sexually transmitted diseases and

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

The ''Maternal and Child Health Handbook'' shall have a page indicating the following (Maternal and Child Health Act, Article 16, Clause 3 and Enforcement Regulations of the Maternal and Child Health Act, Article 7). * Guidelines for the health management of expectant and nursing mothers, such as everyday precautions, recommendations for physical examinations, nutritional intake methods, and dental hygiene. * Information necessary for the care of infants and toddlers, such as childcare precautions, disease prevention, nutritional intake methods, and dental hygiene. * Details on vaccinations, including types of vaccinations, dates and precautions for inoculation. * Information that contributes to the improvement of maternal and child health care, including an overview of the maternal and child health care system and the Children’s Charter. * Matters to note when using the Maternal and Child Health Handbook, such as procedures for its re-issuance. In addition, each municipality may include its unique content, and there is also a section for the mothers to record the growth of their children. Moreover, municipalities with particularly large foreign resident populations — such as

Kawasaki City is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the main cities of Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area. It is the second most populated city in Kanagawa Prefecture after Yokohama, and the List of cities in Japan, eight ...

and

Yokohama City is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

and Hamamatsu City in

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...

— have created their own Maternal and Child Health Handbooks written in languages other than Japanese. Pregnant women and nursing mothers must have the necessary information written in the ''Maternal and Child Health Handbook'' each time they receive medical examinations or health guidance from a doctor, dentist, midwife, or public health nurse. The same shall apply to guardians of infants or young children who have received health examinations or health guidance (Maternal and Child Health Act, Article 16, Clause 2 ). When the child enters or enrolls in a kindergarten, nursery school, or elementary school, confirmation for the recorded information may be requested. Some organizations have published booklets accompanying the ''Maternal and Child Health Handbook'', which are also employed by local governments. Known examples include ''Little Baby Handbook'' for children born weighing less than 1500 grams (3.3 pounds), ''Twins Handbook'' for children born of

multiple birth A multiple birth is the culmination of one multiple pregnancy, wherein the mother gives birth to two or more babies. A term most applicable to vertebrate species, multiple births occur in most kinds of mammals, with varying frequencies. Such bir ...

s, and ''+Happy Seeds of Happiness'' for children with

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

. Even if it is no longer needed, it is advised to keep the ''Maternal and Child Health Handbook'', because it will be useful in confirming vaccination history and underlying health conditions as an adult.

Spread to the world

The ''Maternal and Child Health Handbook'' was originally developed in Japan. However, in the 1980s, an Indonesian doctor who was visiting Japan through a training program of the semi-governmental corporation of

Japan International Cooperation Agency The is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international co ...

(JICA) noticed its effectiveness in contributing to the health of mothers and children and decided to promote it in his own country. With the help of the JICA,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

began distributing the handbooks on a trial basis in 1989. Recognizing its effectiveness, the Japanese government also began to support the project, and since 1998, it has been promoted as the “Mother and Child Health Handbook Project.” The Indonesian version of the ''Maternal and Child Health Handbook'' is larger (A5 notebook size, about 5-7/8 x 8-1/4 in) than the Japanese handbook. It is designed to be understandable to even illiterate mothers by using abundant illustrations. It is also expected to be used as a simplified childcare book. Since 2007,

has been helping to spread the project in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The success in

has led the

to provide training guidance to promote awareness of the handbook in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

References

{{improve categories, date=October 2022 Wikipedia Student Program Maternal health Health in Japan Japanese inventions