Naju-si, Fully Committed to Creating a Pregnancy and Childbirth-Friendly Environment

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] Naju City in Jeollanam-do is making every effort to overcome the national challenge of low birth rates and create a pregnancy and childbirth-friendly environment that is "good for having and raising children" since the launch of the 8th local government.

According to the city on the 20th, it plans to complement the existing policy support methods, which have mostly focused on postnatal care, by actively supporting from the "pre-pregnancy and pre-childbirth" stages to promote an increase in the birth rate.

As a representative example, the city has developed a new independent project called the "Pregnant Women Household Care Service" to alleviate household labor for pregnant women with mobility difficulties, which will be implemented from January 1 next year.

The household care service is a policy to support healthy pregnancy and childbirth in response to the increase in high-risk pregnant women due to delayed marriage and pregnancy/childbirth caused by women's economic activities.

Household care personnel will be dispatched to homes to provide household services such as cleaning, dishwashing, laundry, and tidying up for 3 hours a day, a total of 5 times.

The support targets are high-risk pregnant women, multiple pregnancies, second child or more, and disabled pregnant women residing in the jurisdiction for more than 6 months regardless of income, from 5 months before childbirth to the expected delivery date.

Naju City Public Health Center signed a "Business Agreement for Providing Household Care Service Personnel and Educational Support for Pregnant Women" with the social cooperative "Dream Nursing & Care" on the 18th to ensure smooth project implementation.

Through the agreement, the two organizations will establish a mutual cooperation system for "providing household care service personnel," "service reservation management," and "professional education and health checkups for household care managers."

The city is currently jointly developing a web platform with the Korea Internet & Security Agency and Jeonnam Information & Culture Industry Promotion Agency, following a business agreement signed last month, to allow pregnant women to conveniently make care service reservations via mobile web without visiting the public health center.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said, "No family should give up childbirth due to economic burdens, household chores, or career interruptions," adding, "We will do our best to reform systems and develop policies so that all families expecting pregnancy and childbirth can equally enjoy effective support benefits regardless of income standards."

Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong baekok@asiae.co.kr

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.