Maternal and Child Health Handbook App "Boshi-mo" Launches in Horonobe Town, Hokkaido!

Boshi-mo Co., Ltd.'s Maternal and Child Health Handbook App "Boshi-mo" has been officially introduced in Horonobe Town, Teshio District, Hokkaido, and will be available as the "Horonobe Child-rearing Support App" starting May 1st (Friday). Horonobe Town's fundamental philosophy is "Horonobe, a town where children, parents, and the community join hands and grow freely ~ Towards the realization of a child-centered society ~." The town promotes a child-rearing environment where the healthy growth of each child is equally valued, and parents' feelings about raising children are supported by the entire community. This time, "Boshi-mo," which allows digital recording of paper maternal and child health handbook data and has been adopted by over 870 municipalities, has been selected. In line with the Child and Family Agency's policy to promote the utilization of electronic maternal and child health handbooks and maternal and child health DX*1, its operation has commenced. Additionally, the "Accompanying Consultation Support Service" of "Kosodate DX®"*2, a digital support service for local government childcare-related projects available as an additional function of "Boshi-mo," has also started. This service enables the submission of pregnancy notifications and support benefit applications for pregnant women directly from the app. ◆ "Boshi-mo" Launches in Horonobe Town, Hokkaido, with a Comprehensive Support System for Worry-Free Child-rearing! Horonobe Town operates the "Horonobe Town Family Support Center," organized by residents who wish to assist with childcare and those who want to support child-rearing in the community. This initiative helps create an environment where families can confidently balance work and childcare, supporting them in various daily situations such as temporary care during shopping outings or transportation to childcare facilities. Furthermore, the town supports worry-free child-rearing by reducing the financial burden on child-rearing families. This includes providing birth celebration money: 150,000 yen for the second child, 300,000 yen for the third, 500,000 yen for the fourth, and 1,000,000 yen for the fifth and subsequent children. A childcare allowance of 16,000 yen per month is also provided for each child until they reach one year of age. To make the town's initiatives more convenient for child-rearing households, the Maternal and Child Health Handbook App "Boshi-mo" has been introduced. Concurrently, the "Accompanying Consultation Support Service" has begun, aiming to reduce the burden on residents and improve the efficiency of staff operations. ◆ Community-based Child-rearing App Provides Solid Support for Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Child-rearing! The "Horonobe Child-rearing Support App," adopted by Horonobe Town, is a service compatible with smartphones, tablets, and PCs. It is packed 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, a sharing function with family members living far away (e.g., grandparents), and delivering local information from the town. Moreover, the "Accompanying Consultation Support Service" will be utilized for submitting pregnancy notifications and support benefit applications for pregnant women. This allows users to fill out and submit these documents online anytime, anywhere, reducing the burden of procedures. For municipal staff, this enables them to prepare in advance and adjust operations based on the responses, leading to more comprehensive support tailored to residents' situations and improved administrative efficiency. Moving forward, the town will continue to develop mechanisms for easier procedures and provide continuous, tailored support to alleviate the burden and anxiety of child-rearing households, promoting a convenient, safe, and secure child-rearing environment.

【Guidance on various systems and services provided by the local government】 ● Information on various subsidy systems suitable for pregnancy and child-rearing periods, such as child medical expense subsidies and child allowance, and guidance on application procedures. ● Various notifications distributed by the local government. ● Submission of pregnancy notifications and support benefit applications for pregnant women. 【Record and Manage】 ● Pregnancy health and weight records (graphing). ● Fetal and child growth records (graphing). ● Confirmation of obesity/thinness levels using height and weight curves (graphing). ● Vaccinations: Automatic display of standard vaccination dates, management of scheduled and actual vaccinations, and alerts to prevent missed vaccinations. ● Health checkup information: Recording health checkup data for pregnant women and children. 【Information Provision and Advice】 ● Basic information on childbirth and child-rearing. ● Knowledge and advice tailored to pregnancy week and child's age. ● Videos on how to bathe a baby and prepare baby food. ● Guidance on nearby facilities (hospitals, kindergartens/daycares, parks, childcare facilities, etc.). 【Child-rearing Diary: "Dekitayo Kinenbi" (I Did It Anniversary)】 ● Record child's growth with photos. ● For anniversaries, upload photos with a "First Anniversary Template" including dates and words (e.g., first fetal movement, kick, roll over, sit up, crawl, stand, walk – approximately 150 items can be recorded). 【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 coefficient related to pregnancy and child-rearing." To realize this, we are promoting "Kosodate DX®."