‘Happy i Mom Health Nurse’ Visits Postpartum Families... City Provides Up to 90% Usage Fee Support Based on Income Level
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 24th that starting from July, it will provide the Gwangju-type postpartum care public service for mothers and newborns to all pregnant women.
As part of the birth support policy of "Making Gwangju a Good Place to Give Birth and Raise Children," the Gwangju-type postpartum care public service offers differentiated services from the existing nationwide maternal and newborn health care support projects.
In particular, the "Happy I Mom Health Nurses," composed of nurses or midwives who have completed specialized training and practice, visit families after childbirth to assist mothers with breast care, breastfeeding, and manage newborn sleep.
The support target is mothers residing in Gwangju who have given birth within 120 days.
To strengthen childbirth support such as alleviating the economic burden on families with newborns, the city has set no restrictions on the support target and allows usage divided into five sessions of four hours each.
The usage fee is 20,000 KRW per hour, and up to 90% of the cost is supported depending on the individual household income level.
Recipients of basic livelihood security, near-poverty groups, disabled women, single parents, and those with median income 50% or below receive 18,000 KRW support; those with median income between 51% and 140% receive 14,000 KRW; and those exceeding 140% of median income receive 10,000 KRW support from the city.
The remaining amount must be borne by the user.
Mothers wishing to use the service can apply from 30 days before the expected delivery date up to 90 days after childbirth through the Gwangju I-Kium website or the Women and Family Foundation.
Kim Sun-ok, head of the Women's and Family Division of the city, said, "We will dispatch health nurses to many childbirth families for professional management, provide information related to baby sleep and childcare, increase mothers' satisfaction, and support alleviating economic burdens."
Meanwhile, Gwangju City is promoting 28 tasks across six life cycle stages?meeting, marriage, pregnancy, birth, parenting and care, and work-life balance?to realize making Gwangju a good place to give birth and raise children.
Starting this year, a birth and childcare allowance has been introduced, providing a birth congratulatory payment of 1 million KRW and childcare allowance of 200,000 KRW up to 24 months, and supporting pregnancy-related health examination costs for 300 couples planning their first pregnancy.
In the second half of the year, interest support for housing and urban fund rental loans exclusively for newlywed couples without housing is planned.
Additionally, the city operates the online platform "Gwangju I-Kium," where all information on marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting supported in Gwangju can be checked, and service reservations and consultations can be handled in a one-stop manner.
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