Yoon vows to enhance support for premature babies

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Yoon vows to enhance support for premature babies

Published: 28 Nov. 2024, 15:00 Updated: 28 Nov. 2024, 15:49

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, speaks during a meeting with parents of premature babies at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital in southern Seoul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Thursday to bolster support for the birth, treatment and care of premature babies to help lessen the burden on parents.

Yoon made the pledge during his visit to Seoul St. Mary's Hospital to address concerns over a rising number of babies who were born before 37 weeks of pregnancy or weighing below 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds). Such premature babies face higher health risks.

At a neonatal intensive care unit, he met with a parent of quintuplets born through natural conception in September, the first such case in South Korea, and shared his personal story of being born as a preterm baby weighing 2.3 kg to a working mother.

"Premature babies often require long-term hospitalization in intensive care units immediately after birth, placing a heavy burden on their parents," Yoon said.

"The government will significantly enhance support across the entire process of childbirth, treatment and care for premature babies," he added.

As part of the comprehensive support measures, Yoo Hye-mi, the presidential secretary for low birth responses, said the government will establish two critical maternal and newborn centers, with plans to increase the number in phases.

The government also plans to double the current cap for medical expense support for premature babies to 20 million won (US$14,336).

The eligibility criteria for support services will also be revised to ensure the benefits for premature babies who mostly spend several months in hospital incubators.

The plans also include increased financial support for intensive care units for newborns and high-risk pregnant women, along with better compensation for complex medical procedures, such as surgeries for extremely low birth weight infants.

Approximately 28,000 babies were born prematurely in 2023, accounting for over 10 percent of newborns, according to government data.

The initiative is part of the government's broader efforts to address the nation's record low birthrate, one of the lowest in the world.

The country's total fertility rate, indicating the average number of births per woman over her lifetime, stood at 0.76 in the third quarter.
The presidential office said the government will also review measures to support babies born to unmarried couples to help them live free from social discrimination.

"The government maintains a consistent philosophy of actively supporting and protecting every child, regardless of whether they are from a single-parent family or born under various circumstances," a senior presidential official said, vowing to make efforts to enhance related policies.

The issue of out-of-wedlock births has gained attention following actor Jung Woo-sung's recent revelation that he fathered a son with model Moon Ga-bi, to whom he is not married.

About 10,900 babies, or 4.7 percent of total births, were born out of marriage last year, marking the highest rate since the government compiled such data.

Yonhap