The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Handbook is an integrated home-based record format for maternal, newborn, and child health. “The WHO recommendations on home-based records for maternal, newborn, and child health (2018)” help country officers and experts to identify the value of home-based records including the MCH Handbook. It also indicates the importance of using home-based records effectively, as the benefits derived from them depend on the quality of their implementation.

In 2023, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency published the implementation guide, “Strengthening implementation of home-based records for maternal, newborn, and child health”. The guide is designed around the key concepts of 1) the management cycle of a home-based record program and 2) a user-centered approach. Eight success factors for achieving optimal performance of home-based records are presented.

Researchers are expected to contribute to the effective implementation of the MCH Handbook by generating evidence for and conducting implementation research on the MCH Handbook. To ensure the effective implementation of the MCH Handbook in national health systems, professional associations should take a leadership role to involve health professionals.

The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Handbook has been introduced in more than 52 countries, both developing and developed. Currently, roughly 22 million MCH Handbooks are distributed per year and used in an estimated 16% of 140 million annual births worldwide. This is because health is not promoted in hospitals or health centers, but is nurtured at home and in communities. As confronting quality and safe maternal and child health services required by COVID-19, the MCH Handbook has undergone diverse developments, including digitization and unique content creation. In particular, in response to social vulnerabilities exposed during the pandemic, countries like Kenya have begun efforts to strengthen inclusive health system development that involves citizens, the government, private firms, and partners by fully enhancing digital transformation, starting with the MCH Handbook.

The Maternal and Child Health Handbook (MCH Handbook) in Japan contains a wide range of material related to pregnancy and childcare and has been revised every 10 years. At the review meetings on the MCH Handbook in 2022, 5 points were mainly discussed: (1) mental health care for women during pregnancy and postpartum, (2) care for family members other than mothers, (3) appropriate contents considering diversity, (4) methods of recording children’s growth and development, and (5) combined use of the electronic MCH Handbook.