October 10th is the '19th Pregnant Women’s Day.' It is a government-designated legal commemorative day established to overcome low birth rates through positive awareness of pregnancy and childbirth and to create a social atmosphere that considers pregnant women.
Gyeonggi Province is showing special attention, with Governor Kim Dong-yeon personally visiting employees about to take maternity leave to offer encouragement and gifts. Gyeonggi Province is also carrying out various projects such as ▲delivering eco-friendly agricultural produce packages to pregnant women ▲linking crisis pregnant women with local counseling centers and operating a crisis pregnant women hotline ▲pilot operation of the Mom and Dad First School ▲supporting medical expenses for high-risk pregnant women.
First, Gyeonggi Province supports pregnant women residing in the province with eco-friendly agricultural produce packages worth approximately 480,000 KRW annually. Even when this project faced suspension last year due to the exclusion from the government budget, Gyeonggi Province was the first among nationwide metropolitan governments to secure 2.3 billion KRW of its own funds and supported 20,000 people. This year, the number of beneficiaries has been increased to 30,000. Pregnant women can apply online every February or visit their local eup/myeon/dong community service center with supporting documents such as a birth certificate or pregnancy confirmation to apply.
Gyeonggi Province is also expanding support for ‘crisis pregnant women.’ Crisis pregnant women refer to those who are secluded or isolated by family or others, facing conflicts regarding pregnancy and childbirth such as abortion, abandonment, or adoption, and experiencing social and economic difficulties.
Gyeonggi Province operates local counseling centers for these crisis pregnant women to provide consultation on childbirth, parenting, and protection. The crisis pregnant women’s local counseling center is established at ‘Aureum’ in Gwangmyeong, a welfare facility for single-parent families, and counseling is available through a 24-hour hotline (010-4257-7722 or 1308 without area code). Since its opening in October last year, the crisis pregnant women hotline has provided 496 consultations as of the end of September this year.
Gyeonggi Province is also piloting the ‘Mom and Dad First School’ for couples expecting pregnancy and childbirth. This year’s events will be held three times until November at the Northern Gyeonggi Infertility and Depression Counseling Center (Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital). After the pilot operation, Gyeonggi Province plans to conduct satisfaction surveys and analyses to finalize the program and distribute it to cities and counties.
In addition, projects include ▲‘My First Library in Life,’ which allows pregnant women and caregivers in the province to borrow and return desired books at home without visiting public libraries ▲providing a 1 million KRW National Happiness Card voucher for pregnancy and childbirth medical expenses to all pregnant women in the province ▲paying 1 million KRW per fetus for multiple pregnancies ▲and supporting medical expenses for high-risk pregnant women regardless of income.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
