Maternal and Child Health Handbook App 'Boshi-mo' Launches in Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture!

Boshi-mo Co., Ltd.'s maternal and child health handbook app 'Boshi-mo' has been officially introduced in Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture, and will begin offering services as the 'Murakami Child-rearing Support App' from Wednesday, April 1st. Murakami City's basic philosophy is to be "a city where families and communities are connected, children and young people's thoughts and rights are respected, and they can realize their 'dreams'," aiming to create a vibrant city where children and young people can realize their future dreams and hopes within the community. This time, 'Boshi-mo', which can record paper maternal and child health handbook data digitally and has been adopted by over 830 municipalities, has been chosen. Its operation begins in line with the Children and Families Agency's policy*1 to promote the utilization of electronic maternal and child health handbooks and maternal and child health DX. Furthermore, the "Accompanying Consultation Support Service" of 'Kosodate DX®', a digital transformation support service for local government child-rearing related projects, will also be launched. This will enable users to submit pregnancy notifications and maternity benefit application forms via the app.

◆ 'Boshi-mo' launches in Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture, aiming to be a city where child-rearing is safe and enjoyable! Murakami City provides support for safe pregnancy and childbirth, including assistance for transportation and accommodation costs during prenatal check-ups and delivery, postpartum care services, and online consultations with pediatricians and obstetricians. Additionally, health nurses and midwives provide continuous support from the pregnancy period, striving to alleviate parenting anxiety for eligible individuals. The city also has six child-rearing support centers that engage in various activities to support parents raising preschool children. These include parenting classes where useful skills like cooking and infant safety methods can be learned, as well as monthly events such as birthday parties, growth measurements, story time, nutritionist consultations, public health nurse consultations, and dental hygienist consultations, all designed to help child-rearing households enjoy parenting with peace of mind. The city is promoting the digitalization of administrative services for its citizens, and this time, it is introducing the maternal and child health handbook app 'Boshi-mo' to make the city's initiatives more convenient for child-rearing households. Concurrently, to improve resident convenience regarding procedures for child-rearing related projects, the "Accompanying Consultation Support Service" of 'Kosodate DX', available as an additional function of 'Boshi-mo', will also be launched. ◆ Comprehensive support for pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing with a community-based parenting app! The 'Murakami Child-rearing Support App' adopted by Murakami City is a service compatible with smartphones, tablets, and PCs. It is equipped with convenient features that assist busy mothers and fathers with child-rearing and work, such as recording and managing health data for pregnant women and children, managing vaccination schedules, providing advice on childbirth and child-rearing, sharing functions with family members like grandparents living in distant areas, and notifying users of local information distributed by the city. Moreover, with the "Accompanying Consultation Support Service," users can submit pregnancy notifications and maternity benefit application forms 24 hours a day from anywhere via the app, leading to a reduction in procedural and travel burdens, and waiting times at service counters. Municipal staff can also streamline their preparatory work and administrative processing based on the submitted content. Moving forward, we will continue to promote the development of easier application mechanisms and provide continuous, personalized support to alleviate the burden and anxiety of child-rearing households, fostering a convenient, safe, and secure child-rearing environment. ＜Comment from Kuniyoshi Takahashi, Mayor of Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture＞ Murakami City aims to realize "Murakami, a city overflowing with smiles," and considers creating a child-rearing-friendly city as an important goal, striving to establish an environment and system where everyone can safely give birth to and raise children. With the introduction of the 'Murakami Child-rearing Support App', we can now deliver necessary information such as records of pregnancy and child-rearing, push notifications for optimal vaccination times, and various announcements. Furthermore, pregnancy notifications can also be applied for via the app. We will continue to provide seamless support throughout the pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing periods. Please make use of the new app.

＜Main Functions of the 'Murakami Child-rearing Support App'＞ 【Guidance on various systems and services provided by the local government】 ● Information on various subsidy systems appropriate for pregnancy and child-rearing periods, such as child medical expense assistance and child allowance, and guidance on application procedures ● Various announcements distributed by the local government ● Submission of pregnancy notifications and maternity benefit application forms 【Record and Management】 ● Recording of maternal health and weight during pregnancy (graphical representation) ● Recording of fetal and child growth (graphical representation) ● Confirmation of obesity/underweight status using height-weight curves (graphical representation) ● Vaccinations: Automatic display of standard vaccination dates, management of scheduled and actual vaccinations, alerts to prevent missed vaccinations ● Health check-up information: Recording of health check-up data for pregnant women and children 【Information Provision and Advice】 ● Basic information on childbirth and child-rearing ● Knowledge and advice tailored to pregnancy week or child's age in months ● Videos on topics such as bathing and making baby food ● Guidance on nearby facilities (hospitals, kindergartens/nurseries, parks, child-rearing facilities, etc.) 【Child-rearing Diary: First Milestone Anniversary】 ● Record child's growth with photos ● On anniversaries, upload photos with a "First Milestone Template" including date and words (over 150 items can be recorded, such as first fetal movement/kick/rolling over/sitting up/crawling/standing alone/walking alone) 【Data Sharing】 ● Child's growth records and health data can be viewed on family smartphones and posted on social media

Our company's vision is to achieve zero friction in pregnancy and child-rearing. To realize this, we are promoting the further expansion and collaboration of support areas through 'Kosodate DX®'*2 (prenatal check-ups, vaccinations, infant check-ups, etc.), the establishment of an all-in-one stop for child-rearing related applications and procedures, and the sharing of maternal and child health information with related organizations (medical, childcare/education, specialized institutions, etc.). Through these efforts, we aim to co-create a "safe and simple" child-rearing society with local communities, reducing the "anxiety and burden" of parents.

Service Name: Murakami Child-rearing Support App Monthly Fee (tax included): Free Access Method ・App: Search for 'Boshi-mo' on App Store, Google Play (Supported OS: Android 8.0 or higher, iOS 15.0 or higher) ・Web browser: Access https://www.mchh.jp *Even those not residing in the target municipality can use the app, but please check the official website for information specific to your municipality. *Available functions may vary slightly depending on your municipality.

*1: Children and Families Agency website "Policy for Promoting Child Policy DX 2025 Reference Materials" https://www.cfa.go.jp/assets/contents/node/basic_page/field_ref_resources/6cfab22c-d2bf-4dd1-81ea-49308519ac3a/6f948f38/20250630_councils_kodomo_seisaku_DX_6cfab22c_08.pdf *2: Details of 'Kosodate DX®' service here https://www.mchh.jp/boshimo-kosodatedx *'Kosodate DX' is a registered trademark of Boshi-mo Co., Ltd. *Google Play and Android are trademarks or registered trademarks of Google LLC. *App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. *iOS is the OS name of Apple Inc. iOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and other countries and is used under license.