The Seeds of Life Once in Danger
Have Grown Into Hope
There is a hospital where people who are not patients are admitted. Mothers, doctors, and nurses are all gathered in this place, striving for a 'miracle' to nurture the seeds of life weighing as little as 490g, 540g, 620g, and less than 1.5kg into hope.
The miracles created by the desperate prayers of mothers and the medical staff who are doing everything in their power to hold onto life have now reached their first anniversary.
At 10 a.m. on the 25th, about 300 people gathered at Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital for the first anniversary event of the 'High-Risk Mothers and Newborns Integrated Care Center.'
About 130 newborns who turned high-risk into health and 100 parents who attended the center, which opened a year ago, were present. Officials from Busan City, medical staff, and citizens also came to celebrate these 'miracles.'
"This gathering itself is moving and a blessing." Center Director Hyun-Jin Cho greeted everyone with a smile, saying, "A year has passed, filled with miraculous moments."
Park Hyung-joon, Mayor of Busan, delivered a congratulatory speech upon hearing that a parent who received triplets as a 'gift' thanks to the center had donated to the center, saying, "That donation of 3,330,000 won is more valuable than 33.3 billion won."
Park Hyungjun, mayor of Busan, is delivering a congratulatory speech at the first anniversary event of the High-Risk Maternal and Neonatal Integrated Care Center held on the 25th at the Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital auditorium.
One mother expressed her gratitude, saying, "I was worried about my extremely low birth weight baby, but seeing the medical staff's efforts to nurture the seed of life, I had no time to feel sad."
The Haeundae Paik Hospital High-Risk Mothers and Newborns Integrated Care Center (Director: Professor Hyun-Jin Cho), which is celebrating its first anniversary, continues to write a history of miracles.
The High-Risk Mothers and Newborns Integrated Care Center at Haeundae Paik Hospital opened in March last year, with the delivery room and neonatal intensive care unit newly renovated as an integrated care center.
It has established itself as the region's top specialized facility, where not only high-risk mothers with preterm labor, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and postpartum hemorrhage, but also premature babies and newborns with congenital diseases can receive systematic treatment. Alongside advanced facilities, a top-tier collaborative system is maintained by 15 specialists, including eight in obstetrics and gynecology and seven in pediatrics and adolescent medicine.
Director Hyun-Jin Cho introduced, "Word has spread that comprehensive, one-stop regional care is possible from fetus to mother, so mothers are coming from places like Geoje in Gyeongnam and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, and the center is fulfilling its role as the leading integrated care center in the southeastern region."
This center integrates maternal-fetal care and neonatal intensive care, providing comprehensive health treatment for both fetus and mother from pregnancy through postnatal periods. The maternal-fetal care center handles mothers exposed to high-risk conditions such as preterm labor, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and postpartum hemorrhage, while the neonatal intensive care center is responsible for treating premature babies and newborns with congenital diseases.
The maternal-fetal care center can diagnose and surgically treat twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, which commonly occurs in multiple pregnancies, during pregnancy. As this surgery requires highly advanced skills, Haeundae Paik Hospital is the only facility outside Seoul equipped with the necessary staff and facilities to perform it.
In the neonatal intensive care center, top-level specialists are on standby 24 hours a day to respond to emergencies and surgical situations for extremely low birth weight infants under 1kg who show critical conditions after birth. While there are almost no hospitals outside Seoul that can accept extremely premature infants under 25 weeks without restrictions, Haeundae Paik Hospital’s neonatal intensive care center has shown outstanding clinical results.
Mi-Rim Jung, Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Center (Professor of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine), introduced, "Haeundae Paik Hospital is the only hospital in Busan operating a 24-hour pediatric emergency center, and especially the neonatal intensive care center has established a 24/7 specialist care system, providing the highest level of care."
Recently, with the increase in mothers over 35 and the normalization of infertility treatments, multiple pregnancies have surged, leading to a rapid increase in high-risk newborns and high-risk pregnancies.
According to Statistics Korea, the proportion of mothers aged 35 and older was 36.3% in 2023, nearly double the 18% from 10 years ago. The proportion of premature babies born before 37 weeks was 9.9% in 2023, about 1.5 times higher than 6% a decade earlier. During the same period, the number of low birth weight infants under 2.5kg also increased by 1.4 times. Multiple pregnancies have also increased significantly. The proportion of multiple births among domestic newborns has averaged in the 5% range over the past five years (2019-2023). In the 1990s, it was only 1%, but it has increased fivefold in 30 years.
There is also shocking data related to miscarriage rates. According to data submitted by the National Health Insurance Service to the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, the cumulative number of miscarriages over the past 10 years since 2013 has reached 1,076,071. Considering that the cumulative number of births during the same period was 3,485,907, one out of every three births results in miscarriage. In particular, Busan’s miscarriage rate soared from 27.50% in 2013 to 34.1% in 2022.
Medical staff providing treatment at the Haeundae Paik Hospital High-Risk Maternal and Neonatal Integrated Care Center.
Even though the number of high-risk mothers and newborns is rapidly increasing and the miscarriage rate is rising, the trend is a continuous decrease in specialists due to avoidance of obstetrics and pediatrics. The infrastructure for high-risk mother and newborn care is a high-cost, low-profit facility, so private investment is rare.
Director Cho said, "The number of high-risk pregnant women is increasing, but there are many limitations in maintaining the delivery infrastructure to respond to low birth rates," and emphasized, "The government and local community's interest and broad support are desperately needed to prevent situations where emergency surgeries are difficult or unavoidable transfers occur due to lack of staff and facilities."
At the first anniversary event of the center, Park Hyung-joon, Mayor of Busan, Kim Sung-soo, head of Haeundae District, Jung Hyun-min, Vice Chairman of the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Park Moon-chul, Managing Director of BNK, Lee Joo-chul, Vice President of Koryo Steel, and other officials from government and business circles participated.
Park Hyung-joon, Mayor of Busan, suggested, "Let’s work together as a community so that the center can play a greater role and make Busan a city where it is good to become pregnant and give birth."
Kim Mi-ae, a member of the National Assembly, conveyed her intention, "The High-Risk Mothers and Newborns Integrated Care Center is an essential medical infrastructure that saves lives, so we must prioritize it in policy and expand support."
Kim Sung-soo, Director of Haeundae Paik Hospital, stressed, "Haeundae Paik Hospital will continue to join hands with Busan City and the local community to create an environment where high-risk mothers and newborns can receive safe treatment."
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