Maternal and Child Health Handbook App 'Boshimo' Launches in Iijima Town, Nagano Prefecture!

The maternal and child health handbook app 'Boshimo,' operated by MCH Co., Ltd., has been adopted by Iijima Town in Kamiina District, Nagano Prefecture, and will be available starting Wednesday, April 1st, under the name 'Iijima Sukusuku Navi.'

Iijima Town’s fundamental philosophy is to be a town where 'all children can grow up healthily and build a prosperous future.' The town aims to create an environment where children can grow up healthy in both mind and body by providing seamless support for diverse parenting families throughout the community.

'Boshimo,' which allows users to record data from paper maternal and child health handbooks digitally and is already used by over 830 municipalities, was selected for this initiative. The service is being launched in line with the Children and Families Agency's policy on utilizing electronic maternal and child health handbooks and promoting maternal and child health DX (Digital Transformation)*1.

'Boshimo' is an app that easily supports the management of vaccination schedules, health checkup results, and the distribution of local information via smartphones, tablets, and PCs. Because data is stored in the cloud, it serves as a backup if the physical handbook is lost due to disasters, and it also supports continued use when moving to other municipalities or changing devices, allowing users to continue using it with peace of mind.

◆ 'Boshimo' Launches in Iijima Town, Nagano Prefecture, Known for Its Diverse and Unique Parenting Support Measures!

Iijima Town provides a childbirth celebration gift of 50,000 yen per newborn to reduce the economic burden during childbirth and early child-rearing, creating an environment where parents can start raising their children with peace of mind.

Furthermore, the town presents 5 kilograms of 'Koshihikari' special cultivation rice produced within the town, called 'Koshi-Kogane,' as a birth gift for newborns. By helping residents feel closer to safe and secure local brand rice produced with environmental considerations, the town promotes food education and agricultural development.

This time, 'Boshimo' has been adopted as a new tool for disseminating parenting information to make the town's initiatives more conveniently accessible to parenting households.

◆ Thorough Support for Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Child-rearing with a Community-Based Parenting App!

'Iijima Sukusuku Navi,' adopted by Iijima Town, is a service compatible with smartphones, tablets, and PCs. It is packed with convenient features to assist busy mothers and fathers, 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 town.

The 'Dekitayo Kinenbi' (Milestone Diary) feature, which can be used as a parenting diary, was created based on the Children and Families Agency's maternal and child health handbook format examples. It allows users to record milestones related to developmental stages and parenting—including the 'Parent's Record' section of the handbook—along with photos and messages, and also serves as a guide for a child's growth and development.

Additionally, even when social environmental changes occur due to factors like infectious diseases, the app allows the municipality to instantly deliver important information, such as alerts or advice from public health nurses, to those who need it via text or video, supporting the creation of an environment where childbirth and child-rearing can be done with peace of mind even in emergencies.

<Comment from Takashi Karasawa, Mayor of Iijima Town, Nagano Prefecture> 'Boshimo' is a reassuring parenting support app that 'connects' you with the town office, parenting support organizations, and the local community. It provides not only schedule guidance for various health checkups and vaccinations but also allows you to check your child's checkup results and growth records. Additionally, we will deliver town parenting information such as events. It is packed with features that stay close to your child as they grow day by day. Please make use of the 'connecting' app, 'Boshimo.'

<Main Features of 'Iijima Sukusuku Navi'> [Information on various systems and services provided by the municipality] ● Information and application procedures for various subsidy systems suitable for pregnancy and child-rearing periods, such as the Child Medical Expense Subsidy System and Child Allowance ● Various notifications distributed by the municipality [Recording and Management] ● Recording of physical condition and weight during pregnancy (graphed) ● Growth records of the fetus and child (graphed) ● Confirmation of obesity/leanness levels using height-weight curves (graphed) ● Vaccinations: Automatic display of standard vaccination dates, management of vaccination schedules and history, and alerts to prevent missed vaccinations ● Health checkup information: Recording of health checkup data for pregnant women and children [Information Provision and Advice] ● Basic information on childbirth and child-rearing ● Knowledge and advice tailored to the stage of pregnancy or the child's age in months ● Videos on how to bathe a baby, prepare baby food, etc. ● Information on surrounding facilities (hospitals, kindergartens/nursery schools, parks, parenting facilities, etc.) [Parenting Diary: Milestone Diary] ● Record your child's growth along with photos ● Upload photos with 'First Milestone Templates' that include dates and words for special occasions (approximately 150 items can be recorded, such as first fetal movement, kick, rollover, sitting up, crawling, standing alone, walking alone, etc.) [Data Sharing] ● Child growth records and health data can be viewed on family members' smartphones, etc., and can also be posted to SNS

The company's vision is to reduce the friction coefficient related to pregnancy and child-rearing to zero. To achieve this, we are promoting further expansion and coordination of support areas (maternity checkups, vaccinations, infant checkups, etc.) through 'Kosodate DX®'*2, the development of all-in-one-stop applications and procedures related to child-rearing, and the coordination of maternal and child health information with relevant institutions (medical, childcare/education, specialized institutions, etc.). Through this, we aim to reduce the 'anxiety and burden' of parents and co-create a 'safe and convenient' child-rearing society with local communities.

Service Name: Iijima Sukusuku Navi Monthly Fee (tax included): Free Access Method - App: Search for 'Boshimo' on the App Store or Google Play (Supported OS: Android 8.0 or higher, iOS 15.0 or higher) - Web Browser: Access https://www.mchh.jp

*Even if you do not live in the target municipality, you can still use the app, but please check the official website for information specific to your municipality. *Available features may vary slightly depending on the municipality where you reside.

*1: Children and Families Agency website 'Reference Materials for Policy Guidelines for Promoting Child Policy DX 2025' 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: For details on 'Kosodate DX®' services, click here: https://www.mchh.jp/boshimo-kosodatedx *'Kosodate DX' is a registered trademark of MCH 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 an 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.