Confidential birth program draws 16 applicants one month after launch

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday that 16 people have applied for its new scheme to protect single mothers and their newborns over a month after the policy was implemented.

A nurse holds a newborn at a postpartum center in Yanggu County, Gangwon, on Dec. 4, 2023. [YONHAP]

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday that 16 people have applied for its new scheme to protect single mothers and their newborns over a month after the policy was implemented.

One applicant withdrew from the program after spending time with her baby during the seven-day consideration period. After consultations, she ultimately decided to take responsibility for the child, according to the Health Ministry.

The scheme, implemented on July 19, allows mothers who wish to keep their labor confidential to give birth at medical institutions under an alias after receiving counseling at one of the 16 consulting offices established by the government nationwide.

Mothers who choose not to raise their newborns can relinquish their parental rights within seven days of birth, transferring custody to local governments, which will then manage the adoption process.

Another policy that went into effect the same day last month requires hospitals and other medical institutions to report all births to the state-run Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) within 14 days, which will immediately share the data with local governments. Since the policy's month-long implementation, a total of 18,364 birth reports have been submitted to HIRA by 368 medical institutions.

If those responsible for birth registration, such as parents or guardians, do not complete the documentation within a month of childbirth, despite the local government being informed by medical institutions, authorities must notify them to complete the registration within seven days.

If the registration is not completed despite these warnings or a guardian cannot be identified, the local government can register the birth with court approval.

To address concerns that the policy might lead some mothers to give birth outside of medical institutions to avoid disclosure, the government has established 16 consulting agencies nationwide, the Health Ministry said.

Pregnant women with these concerns can also seek consultation by calling 1308. In the past month, 419 consultations were conducted.

The policies were introduced last month following the discovery of two unregistered babies found dead in a fridge in an apartment in Suwon, southern Gyeonggi, in June last year.

The 36-year-old mother, who committed infanticide in November 2018 and 2019 and kept their bodies in a fridge, received an eight-year sentence from an appellate court in June.

The Board of Audit and Inspection revealed last year that 2,236 newborns born in medical institutions between 2015 and 2022 were unregistered.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]