10% of newborns are premature… South Korea launches expert council for support measures

In order to strengthen support for premature babies, the Ministry of Health and Welfare launched the "Premature Baby Support Expert Council," which is comprised of medical experts and parents raising premature babies, and held the council in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 12th.
The conference held its first meeting in 2021. The conference will thoroughly examine the effectiveness of the model project for sustainable management of premature infants, which has been in operation since 2021, and discuss plans to transform the project. It will also discuss the expansion of medical support for premature infants and infants with congenital abnormalities.
A premature baby is one born before 37 weeks of gestation or weighing less than 2.5kg. One in 10 babies born in Korea is premature. Recently, Seoul Seongmo (Seongmo)
The quintuplets, who were born naturally at a hospital and became a hot topic, were classified as very low birth weight premature babies, weighing less than 1kg.
The government is providing specialized personnel to treat premature infants who have been admitted to the intensive care unit and discharged.
A nurse is conducting a "model project for the continuous management of premature infants" in which she will follow up and provide parenting counseling for three years, with 27 hospitals in six regions taking part.
After analyzing the results, the government is considering converting the model project into a full-scale project from next year and expanding the implementation area nationwide.
Professor Jang Yun-sil of the Samsung Seoul Hospital's Pediatrics Department, who attended the conference, said, "Children from vulnerable classes in the community are more likely to be excluded from support.
"Therefore, we must expedite the nationwide expansion of sustainable management services for premature babies," the ministry said. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Welfare stressed, "In the current serious situation of a declining birthrate, it is important to provide multifaceted support for the healthy growth of premature babies.
"We will prepare effective policies, such as improving the medical environment and strengthening the state's responsibility for raising children, so that premature babies who are born with difficulty can grow up healthy," he said.