In the first half of this year, the number of unborn children due to miscarriage and stillbirth reached 40,000. The rate of miscarriage and stillbirth is 25.43%, the highest in the past 10 years. Analysis suggests that, in addition to genetic factors, young people’s late entry into society and late-marriage-related childbirth at an older age have recently significantly increased the rate of miscarriages and stillbirths.
◆1 million stillborn babies over 10 years
According to data received from the National Health Insurance Corporation by People Power Party lawmaker Baek Jong-heon, a member of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, on the 20th, there were 39,295 miscarriages and 121 stillborn babies in the first half of this year. During the same period, 39,416 babies (115,559 people), or 34.1%, were miscarried or stillborn.
A miscarriage means that a fertilized egg implants in the mother’s uterus, but the fetus dies and escapes from the uterus in less than 20 weeks of pregnancy. Delivering a child who dies after 20 weeks of pregnancy is called a stillbirth. Here, the number of miscarriages excludes artificial termination of pregnancy (abortion).
As pregnancies themselves decrease, the number of miscarriages and stillborn babies is decreasing. The number of pregnant and stillborn babies, which was 110,280 in 2013, fell below 100,000 in 2017 (98,554) and then decreased to 77,037 in 2023. However, the rate of miscarriage and stillbirth, which is divided by the sum of miscarriage and stillbirth and live birth, is steadily increasing. The rate of miscarriage and stillbirth rose from 20.65% in 2013 to 21.87% in 2017, and reached the 24% range from 2020 to 2022. As of the first half of this year, it reached 25.43%, the highest since 2013.
Medical experts point out older childbirth as one of the reasons for the rise in miscarriage and stillbirth rates. Professor Jeong Yun-ji of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Severance Hospital explained, “If the mother is old, the process of the placenta forming and settling on the uterine wall may not go smoothly,” adding, “The risk of genetic mutation increases, increasing the likelihood of miscarriage or stillbirth.” According to Statistics Korea, the age of mothers who gave birth to their first child was 33.0 years old last year, an increase of 2.3 years from 30.7 years ago in 2013, 10 years ago. It was the highest among member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The proportion of mothers aged 35 or older, classified as high-risk mothers, increased significantly to 36.3% last year from 20.2% 10 years ago.
◆“Employment, marriage, and childbirth must be brought forward”
Starting this year, the government is rolling out a variety of support measures, such as supporting medical expenses for high-risk pregnant women regardless of income and covering some non-reimbursed anti-miscarriage drugs. Because miscarriages and stillbirths are also caused by genetic factors, it is difficult to prevent them 100% with government prenatal measures alone. It is pointed out that society as a whole needs to be considerate so that a single miscarriage does not lead to giving up on childbirth. This means that an atmosphere must be established in the workplace where pregnant women in their early stages can receive medical services, such as prenatal check-ups, and take advantage of the reduced working hours system, without being noticed.
There are also voices calling for structural changes across society to accelerate delayed employment, marriage, and childbirth. The government pursued a plan to raise the elementary school entrance age by one year in 2022 without sufficiently gathering public opinion, and stopped discussions on the matter after receiving strong opposition. Lee Sang-rim, a senior researcher at the Population Policy Research Center at Seoul National University, said, “As young people are delaying their entry into society, marriage, and childbirth due to intensifying competition for jobs, structural reforms must be made to improve the lives of young people.”
Reporter Heo Se-min/Lee Woo-sang semin@hankyung.com
