Maternal and child health Handbook in Japan

A joint US and Japanese research team compared the IMR in Japan and the United States (Fig. 3). In 1950, the IMR in Japan was about double that of the US. However, in 1964 the IMR in Japan dropped below that of the US, despite the fact that Japan was still a poor country with GNP per capita of only 780 US dollars. In that year, the Japanese Government even had to request a loan from the World Bank to build the bullet train. The state of the economy cannot explain everything. Even though the economic situation is poor, people can still enjoy healthy and happy lives. The joint research team reached five possible explanations for Japan’s low infant mortality rate; narrow socio-economic distribution, national health insurance, the maternal and child health (MCH) handbook, population-based screening and health check-ups and high value placed on childbearing. While Japan’s experience is different from that of many developing countries, the MCH Handbook program might be just as important a tool in ensuring the quality of life of mothers and children.