One Year of Protected Birth System: 171 Pregnant Women Choose to Raise Their Children Themselves After Counseling

1,971 Pregnant Women in Crisis Received Counseling in One Year
109 Anonymous Births... Abandoned Children Decreased by 66%

During the first year of the Crisis Pregnancy Protected Birth Program, which allows pregnant women in crisis to give birth under an alias, 171 women who received counseling decided to raise their children themselves in their original families. There were 109 women who chose to give birth anonymously.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on July 18, a total of 1,971 pregnant women in crisis received counseling from July 19, 2024, to July 17, 2025. Of these, 340 women received in-depth counseling related to childbirth and child-rearing. As a result, more than half?171 women?chose to raise their children. Thirty-three women opted for adoption after birth registration. There were 109 applications for protected birth, and 106 of these resulted in anonymous births. There were also 20 cases where the application for protected birth was withdrawn during the mandatory reflection period.

The protected birth system allows women who find it difficult to disclose their pregnancy due to family or social reasons to receive medical care and give birth under an alias at a hospital. The newborn is registered and protected by the state, and upon reaching adulthood, can access birth information through a birth certificate. This system was introduced alongside the birth notification system to prevent the occurrence of "ghost children."

At the time of its introduction, concerns were raised that the system might encourage mothers to give up raising their children or infringe upon the child's "right to know their origin." The government is operating the program by first exploring the possibility of child-rearing through counseling and providing sufficient information. There have also been reports of women deciding to raise their children after discussions with their families during the reflection period.

The number of abandoned children has also decreased. In 2024, there were 30 abandoned children in South Korea, a decrease of about 66% compared to 88 in the previous year. The government attributes this to the early identification of pregnant women in crisis and the provision of counseling and support. Currently, crisis pregnancy counseling is available through 16 regional counseling centers nationwide and the counseling hotline 1308. The National Center for the Rights of the Child has transferred and is managing 51 birth certificates of children born through protected birth in a separate archive.