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Provided by Hapcheon-gun
Even in modern society where it is difficult to give birth to and raise a child, Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do recently had two mothers giving birth to their sixth child, bringing new vitality to the community with congratulations from those around them. The military recently awarded the military governor’s commendation to two families that contributed to creating an atmosphere encouraging childbirth as model families with multiple children.
Hapcheon-gun, where the number of births was 137 in 2019, is showing a decline to 97 in 2022 and 62 in 2023, and the total fertility rate also fell sharply from 1.01 the previous year to 0.64.
Accordingly, the military is making it a top priority to create a healthy pregnancy and childbirth environment and is overcoming the low birth rate crisis by developing systematic and multifaceted support projects ranging from pregnancy preparation to support for infant and maternal health after childbirth.
◆Gyeongnam’s largest! Unconventional support for postpartum care costs
Hapcheon-gun supports postpartum care expenses of up to 3 million won per birth to reduce the financial burden on families giving birth and improve the health of mothers. This support is the highest level in the country, far exceeding the 500,000 to 1 million won support level of nearby cities and counties, and provides extensive support for the costs used to restore and manage the mother’s health.
In addition, for families who do not receive support because they do not meet the existing requirements, such as weekend couples or children going to special schools, the ordinance on support for pregnancy and childbirth in Hapcheon-gun was partially revised on September 26, shortening the residence requirement from 1 year to 6 months. By doing so, the system was reorganized so that more families giving birth could receive support.
Provided by Hapcheon-gun
◆Responsible for maternal and newborn health care
Hapcheon-gun, which is a vulnerable area for childbirth, does not have maternal and newborn health care providers and professional personnel, so for families who have difficulty recovering after childbirth and raising newborns, 90% of the out-of-pocket costs for health care workers’ transportation and services are covered by up to KRW 1 million. Additional support is provided.
In addition, by revising the support conditions based on the date of birth of the newborn from 『Families where the couple and their existing children have had an address in Hapcheon-gun for 6 months ago』 to 『Families where the father or mother has been registered as a resident in Hapcheon-gun for 6 months ago』, most families with childbirth will actually receive support. It is expected that it will be possible.
◆Expansion of support programs for infertile couples who want children
Hapcheon-gun supports in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination treatment costs and examination fees for residents diagnosed with infertility, and supports up to 20 times of in vitro fertilization and up to 5 times of artificial insemination.
In addition, depending on income, additional support of 500,000 to 1 million won in addition to the government subsidy is provided to ease the financial burden on infertile couples. Through the military’s support for infertility treatment costs, eight newborns were born last year alone, and five babies were born this year as well, making a significant contribution to increasing the birth rate.
Hapcheon-gun is requesting social security consultations with the goal of abolishing the income standard and increasing support funds to strengthen support for infertile couples, and plans to further expand through amendments to the ordinance based on the results of the consultations.
◆Providing health care services in the early stages of life, ‘a healthy first step for pregnant and giving birth families’
The early life health care project being implemented in Hapcheon-gun was selected as a public contest project by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in June 2022, and the project has begun in earnest and is receiving a positive response from families giving birth.
This project, which is now in its third year of implementation, has dedicated nurses and social workers who have completed specialized training courses visit pregnant women and the homes of those under 2 years of age to ▲check the health status of the baby and mother ▲counseling on growth and development of infants and toddlers ▲safety accidents in the home. Countermeasures ▲Customized health care services, including local resource linkage services, are provided.
In particular, by actively intervening in resolving the problem of households in crisis, we have provided a variety of customized services, such as ▲ linkage with mental health welfare centers for depressed pregnant women ▲ requesting the Dream Start Project for families with childcare problems ▲ linkage with medical support for undocumented immigrant infants and toddlers, etc., and the satisfaction of the beneficiaries is very high.
◆Strengthening pregnancy- and childbirth-friendly policies to support maternal health
Hapcheon-gun has abolished the income standard for the medical expenses support project for high-risk pregnant women starting this year and provides support of up to 3 million won, guaranteeing healthy childbirth and recovery of mother and child’s health. In addition, through agreements with local medical institutions, we provide free rubella tests, basic blood tests, and birth defect tests to pregnant women, and provide folic acid, iron, and nutritional supplements according to the week of pregnancy. We also provide various gifts to celebrate childbirth, easing the financial burden on mothers and families.
In addition, medical expenses for premature infants and congenital abnormalities are supported regardless of income, and hearing aid expenses of up to 2.7 million won are supported for infants and toddlers diagnosed with hearing loss. In addition, the diaper support project for low-income families was increased from 80,000 won to 90,000 won, and the formula support project was increased from 100,000 won to 110,000 won. In particular, we are helping to resolve nutritional imbalances by delivering customized packaged supplementary food to the homes of about 70 pregnant women and infants twice a month. In order to expand the amount of support for diapers, an essential child care product, we applied for social security consultation in June and the consultation was completed. It will be implemented as soon as possible.
Hapcheon County Mayor Kim Yun-cheol said, “Childbirth is an important factor that goes beyond personal happiness and determines the future of our society. Our goal is to ease the burden of raising children and lay the foundation for them to grow their dreams.” He added, “We will continue to provide various pregnancy and childbirth policies and programs in the future.” “We will do our best to increase our county’s birth rate and allow more families to raise their children happily.”
