After a fetus died in transit when a pregnant woman in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, who needed an emergency delivery, was unable to find a hospital, the government has used the incident to step up its response, reviewing the entire maternal and child health care system day after day.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 4th that it held a roundtable with 22 severe and regional maternal and child health centers nationwide, the Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the Korean Society of Neonatology to discuss the operation status of maternal and child health centers and improvement plans.
The discussion was arranged after an accident in the early morning on the 2nd in which a fetus died during the transfer of a 29-week pregnant woman living in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, who was transported all the way to Busan in an emergency. The pregnant woman, hospitalized with bleeding, showed a drop in the fetal heart rate and needed to be transferred to a higher-level hospital, but hospitals in the Chungcheong region said acceptance was difficult due to a lack of specialists, leading to a transfer to Busan. The pregnant woman arrived by helicopter in about 3 hours and 20 minutes, but the fetus ultimately died.
The previous day, Minister Jung Eun-kyeong visited Chungbuk National University Hospital, held an emergency on-site roundtable, and reviewed problems with the maternal and child health care system. Staffing shortages, limits on nighttime response, and low compensation relative to responsibility were cited as key issues.
That same day, the Minister wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "I feel a heavy sense of responsibility," and "We will urgently prepare improvement measures so that pregnant women can give birth with peace of mind and in safety."
Then on the 4th, a nationwide roundtable was held to begin full-fledged discussions on institutional improvements.
Until now, the government has designated and operated neonatal intensive care regional centers and integrated care centers for high-risk pregnant women and newborns to treat high-risk mothers and infants. Last year, it reorganized the system into severe, regional, and local maternal and child health centers according to the severity of the mother and newborn, and newly designated severe centers.
However, while demand for high-risk deliveries is increasing due to the rise in older pregnant women and multiple births, there is a shortage of specialist personnel in obstetrics and neonatology. In fact, the regional maternal and child health center at Chungbuk National University Hospital is dependent on one obstetrics specialist, limiting its ability to respond at night and on holidays.
At the meeting, structural problems were intensively discussed, not only transfer and transport issues in emergencies but also ▲ shortages of obstetrics and neonatology personnel ▲ insufficient infrastructure ▲ low compensation systems ▲ burdens from medical accidents.
The government plans to overhaul the maternal and child health care system by severity and introduce an information system that can check in real time which hospital resources are available for transfer and transport. It will also strengthen cooperation with the 119 emergency service.
It will also expand support focused on vulnerable regions and push to improve compensation systems for medical staff in essential health care and to strengthen the safety net for medical accidents.
Minister Jung Eun-kyeong said, "We extend our deepest condolences to the pregnant woman who suffered this accident, and as the minister in charge, we feel a heavy responsibility," and "We will reflect the views from the field to prevent similar cases from recurring and swiftly create an environment where pregnant women can give birth with peace of mind."