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🇰🇷 South Korea /Health & Science

Low Birth Rate is a National Worry, Postpartum Care is a Mother's Worry

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Analysis Sources not specified Context piece
  • South Korea faces a critical low birth rate, yet post-partum care, essential for mothers and newborns, is increasingly becoming a costly private service, with many facilities charging millions of won for just two weeks.
  • The article criticizes the lack of transparency in pricing and service components of private postpartum care centers, noting that essential services are often blurred with optional add-ons, making it difficult for consumers to make informed choices.
  • It argues for increased public postpartum care services to establish a baseline standard, ensuring that all mothers receive adequate care regardless of their economic status or location, and suggests that government support should focus on guaranteeing services rather than just subsidizing costs.

South Korea is grappling with a severe demographic crisis characterized by a historically low birth rate. Amidst this national concern, the essential process of postpartum recovery and newborn care is increasingly becoming a luxury, dictated by market forces rather than universal need. Postpartum care centers, once a supplementary service, are now a near-necessity for many mothers, with bookings often made immediately after confirming pregnancy.

The reality is that postpartum care is no longer an option but a necessity.

— Kim Jeong-seokProfessor of Sociology at Dongguk University and Director of the Institute for Population and Social Cooperation.

The reality for these mothers is a steep financial burden. Private postpartum care centers, which dominate the market, charge exorbitant fees, often running into millions of won for a standard two-week stay. Premium packages can escalate to tens of millions, creating a tiered system where access to quality care is determined by purchasing power. While service diversification is not inherently problematic, the commodification of basic maternal and infant care is a significant concern.

A key issue is the opacity of pricing and service offerings. The distinction between standard, essential services and optional add-ons is often unclear, leading to unexpected cost increases. Furthermore, the "choice" presented to mothers can be illusory, as certain services are presented as optional but are difficult to refuse in practice. This lack of transparency exacerbates the financial strain on families.

The issue is not just the high price, but the lack of transparency in pricing and service composition.

— Kim Jeong-seokCritiquing the private postpartum care market.

The scarcity of public postpartum care facilities further compounds the problem. With very few public options available and demand far outstripping supply, the term "care center ticketing" has emerged to describe the competitive struggle for a spot. When the public sector fails to meet basic demand, the burden inevitably shifts to the private market, which operates on profit motives rather than social welfare.

The term 'care center ticketing' has emerged because the supply of public care centers cannot keep up with actual demand.

— Kim Jeong-seokExplaining the scarcity of public postpartum facilities.

The article advocates for a stronger public role in postpartum care. It suggests that public facilities should establish a baseline standard of care, ensuring that all mothers, regardless of their financial situation or geographic location, receive adequate support. Government financial aid, such as the "First Meeting Voucher," needs to be redesigned. Instead of simply subsidizing costs, which can be absorbed by price increases, support should be directly tied to guaranteeing essential services and ensuring that the funds translate into actual care received by mothers. The article concludes by emphasizing that supporting mothers through the critical postpartum period is a societal responsibility, essential for addressing the nation's low birth rate.

Support should not be based on 'how much to give,' but on 'what to guarantee.'

— Kim Jeong-seokProposing a new approach to government support for postpartum care.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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