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The reasons why 1 in every 10 infants dies in South Korea are widely unknown partly due to a lack of proper record keeping, according to a report released by a state-run research institute.
According to the recently published paper, a total of 979 Korean infants died within their first 12 months from 2007 to 2011. They accounted for 12.6 percent of all 7,798 infant deaths in the same period.
“Unknown cause” was the third-biggest reason for infant deaths from 2007 to 2011, following illnesses and birth defects including chromosomal abnormalities.
According to scholar Choi Jung-soo, the author of the research paper, the number of infant deaths has decreased dramatically in Korea over the past 10 years, but the number of neonatal deaths from unknown causes has not dropped much compared to a decade ago.
One of the major reasons for this is a lack of proper record keeping, according to Choi.
Many Korean parents whose children died within their first month do not apply for a birth certificate and therefore cannot apply for a death certificate either, she said.
In South Korea, parents are legally obligated to register their newborn’s birth within its first 28 days.
This makes it difficult for the government to find out and record their causes of death, especially those that died in nonmedical facilities that do not issue medical certificates of death, she said.
Meanwhile, young mothers in their teens or early-20s had a much higher chance of losing an infant to an unknown cause than those in their mid-20s or 30s.
While 25.8 percent of teen mothers who lost an infant from 2007 to 2011 reported that the cause was unknown, this was the case for only 10 percent of mothers in their 30s.
Also, less-educated mothers were more likely to attribute neonatal deaths to unknown causes, according to Choi’s report.
A total of 18.6 percent of mothers who never attended high school lost an infant due to an unknown reason, while this was the case for only 8.8 percent of the mothers with university degrees.
“There also have been reports that young and less-educated mothers have a higher chance of having premature babies,” she wrote in her report. “These reports and my research findings together suggest that young, less-educated mothers are especially vulnerable during and after their pregnancies.”
The number of premature births are on the rise in South Korea, from 5.6 percent in 2010 to 6.5 percent last year. In 2000, only 3.8 percent of newborns in the county were born premature, before 37 complete weeks of gestation.
As Choi pointed out, preterm labor occurred more often among teen mothers and mothers aged 35 or older.
According to a report submitted to lawmaker Nam Yoon In-soon’s office by the Health Ministry this year, some of the main causes of the increase in preterm births here include teen pregnancies, depression during pregnancy and side effects of infertility treatments.
By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)
According to the recently published paper, a total of 979 Korean infants died within their first 12 months from 2007 to 2011. They accounted for 12.6 percent of all 7,798 infant deaths in the same period.
“Unknown cause” was the third-biggest reason for infant deaths from 2007 to 2011, following illnesses and birth defects including chromosomal abnormalities.
According to scholar Choi Jung-soo, the author of the research paper, the number of infant deaths has decreased dramatically in Korea over the past 10 years, but the number of neonatal deaths from unknown causes has not dropped much compared to a decade ago.
One of the major reasons for this is a lack of proper record keeping, according to Choi.
Many Korean parents whose children died within their first month do not apply for a birth certificate and therefore cannot apply for a death certificate either, she said.
In South Korea, parents are legally obligated to register their newborn’s birth within its first 28 days.
This makes it difficult for the government to find out and record their causes of death, especially those that died in nonmedical facilities that do not issue medical certificates of death, she said.
Meanwhile, young mothers in their teens or early-20s had a much higher chance of losing an infant to an unknown cause than those in their mid-20s or 30s.
While 25.8 percent of teen mothers who lost an infant from 2007 to 2011 reported that the cause was unknown, this was the case for only 10 percent of mothers in their 30s.
Also, less-educated mothers were more likely to attribute neonatal deaths to unknown causes, according to Choi’s report.
A total of 18.6 percent of mothers who never attended high school lost an infant due to an unknown reason, while this was the case for only 8.8 percent of the mothers with university degrees.
“There also have been reports that young and less-educated mothers have a higher chance of having premature babies,” she wrote in her report. “These reports and my research findings together suggest that young, less-educated mothers are especially vulnerable during and after their pregnancies.”
The number of premature births are on the rise in South Korea, from 5.6 percent in 2010 to 6.5 percent last year. In 2000, only 3.8 percent of newborns in the county were born premature, before 37 complete weeks of gestation.
As Choi pointed out, preterm labor occurred more often among teen mothers and mothers aged 35 or older.
According to a report submitted to lawmaker Nam Yoon In-soon’s office by the Health Ministry this year, some of the main causes of the increase in preterm births here include teen pregnancies, depression during pregnancy and side effects of infertility treatments.
By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)
