Maternal and Child Health Handbook

When a pregnancy is first confirmed by a doctor in Japan, the mother is given a notebook called the "Maternal and Child Health Handbook."  Since I wasn't pregnant in Japan and my son has never received general health checkups in Japan, he was never issued one of these special books.  However, since we now live here, we need one!

When I took my son to the doctor to get his flu shot the other day, the office staff were very confused why I didn't have this special book.  My friend who took me had questions about what they do in America if they don't use the same system.  Japan is very attached to their paper.  Fax machines are much more commonly used here versus email!  You don't see anyone going paperless here.  In a country that is known for it's tech industry and innovation, there are some things that just don't change.  Physical copies of everything is one of those things that will never go by the wayside here. 

The book was super easy to obtain.  My friend went with me to the ward office where I filled out a short form and they handed one over.  This book is meant to be a record of every piece of health information from conception to 6 years old.  And when I say every piece, I mean it!

Everything about mom before baby.

Mom's dental records too!

Postpartum information.

Health checkup information for every general health check.

And tons of growth charts!

My English copy is much larger than my friend's Japanese version.  After flipping through it we realized it not only had everything in English and Japanese, but at the back there is a list of common medical terms and symptoms for a "point and speak dictionary."  I pretty sure I will be using this in the future!