"Guam Birth Tourism Mother Dies at Resort 12 Days After Delivery"

Died Alone in Room Without Visiting Hospital
Cause of Death: Pulmonary Embolism and Thrombosis... Related to Cesarean Section

A woman in her 30s who traveled to the U.S. territory of Guam for birth tourism died 12 days after undergoing a cesarean section, a fact that was revealed belatedly.

Stock photo unrelated to the article content. Photo by Asia Economy.

On the 13th, MBC reported, "In July of last year, a woman in her 30s, Ms. A, was found dead at a famous resort by the beach in Guam." The time of Ms. A's death was the 12th day after giving birth at a local hospital. Preparing to immigrate to Guam, Ms. A and her husband headed to Guam through a domestic agency that arranged birth tourism about a month before her due date.

Ms. A's husband, who stayed with his wife in Guam, trusted the agency's claim that a veteran postpartum caregiver they hired would take care of the mother 24 hours a day, and returned to Korea first due to work. However, 11 days after the birth, the husband received a message from the mother reporting abnormal symptoms. Ms. A complained of persistent headaches despite medication and poor vision. The husband repeatedly contacted the postpartum caregiver and local manager, requesting, "My wife is very sick now, please take her to the hospital quickly."

However, around 9 a.m. the next day, the mother was found dead alone in her resort room. No one was by her side overnight, and she had never been taken to a hospital until her death. An autopsy revealed that Ms. A died from pulmonary embolism and thrombosis. These are diseases that carry a risk after cesarean delivery and are symptoms that medical personnel carefully monitor for a certain period after childbirth in Korea. However, Ms. A was discharged from the local hospital the day after her cesarean section and stayed at the resort without medical personnel.

Ms. A's husband deeply regrets having embarked on the dangerous birth tourism, trusting only the agency's assurances of safety. He told MBC, "(With the child) we can't live just the two of us, and now that my wife is gone, everything has become impossible. Citizenship has become meaningless," adding, "Everything fell apart in an instant."

Meanwhile, the birth tourism agency, which emphasized safety, claims no responsibility. When Ms. A complained of abnormal symptoms, the caregiver who received the husband's calls reportedly sent a message saying it was "like postpartum depression or a common cold," implying it was nothing serious. Also, despite the husband's requests to check on the mother's condition, the caregiver only briefly visited the accommodation and did not enter the mother's room. The bereaved family has filed a complaint against the agency's representative and related personnel for professional negligence resulting in death.