South Korea to Overhaul System for High-Risk Pregnancies After Tragic 'Delivery뺑뺑이' Incident

South Korea is implementing measures to address the critical issue of 'delivery뺑뺑이,' a phenomenon where high-risk pregnant women and newborns struggle to find immediate medical care, often being transferred long distances. The government's newly announced plan aims to overhaul the patient transfer and referral system, particularly for maternal and child health emergencies.

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If a cooperation center had been established in Cheongju, we could have responded more effectively through information sharing between hospitals.

A key component of the strategy is the expansion of maternal and child medical cooperation networks. Currently absent in the Chungcheong, Jeonbuk, and Jeju regions, these networks will be established within the year. The goal is to foster collaboration between tertiary care institutions and birthing hospitals to maximize local capacity for emergency cases. This initiative is partly a response to a tragic incident in Cheongju, where a 29-week pregnant woman's transfer to Busan for emergency delivery tragically ended with the death of her fetus.

To further bolster emergency response, the government will enhance the transfer system for high-risk patients. When a high-risk pregnant woman calls 119, the priority will be transfer to her regular hospital. If that facility cannot provide care, the regional maternal and child medical center's cooperation network will be activated. For cases that cannot be resolved regionally, a dedicated transfer team from the central maternal and child medical center, in coordination with the central 119 emergency dispatch center, will select an appropriate hospital. The staffing for this central transfer team will triple from five to 15 members.

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It is a last resort measure intended to maximize the use of current resources, as it seems unlikely that the staffing situation will improve significantly in the short term.

Addressing the shortage of specialized medical personnel is a significant challenge. The government plans to relax the full-time staffing requirements for regional maternal and child medical centers, allowing specialists from local birthing hospitals or obstetricians to work part-time or on-call shifts. This is seen as a pragmatic solution given the difficulty in recruiting obstetricians. Long-term plans include expanding the number of central maternal and child medical centers from the current two in Seoul to six nationwide, increasing support for non-metropolitan areas, and bolstering the number of full-time faculty in obstetrics and gynecology at national universities.

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In addition to refining the transfer process, we must also consider strengthening the supply system for specialized personnel and hospital beds at facilities that receive high-risk pregnant women and newborns.