Incheon City Provides One-Stop Service for Childbirth and Parenting Support to Pregnant Women in Crisis

by Park Haesook

Published 04 Oct.2023 10:33(KST)

Incheon City announced on the 4th that it will support a one-stop service for childbirth and childcare for pregnant women in crisis starting this month.

The city will assign dedicated personnel and operate the "One-Stop Support Center for Pregnant Women in Crisis" to ensure that all pregnant women, regardless of income level or marital status, can give birth to and raise healthy babies.

The center's operation is entrusted to Incheon Jamo Center, the only childbirth support facility in Incheon (a welfare facility for single mother families), which supports childbirth and housing for unmarried mothers and runs an alternative school for teenage unmarried mothers. The center provides customized services such as a 24-hour counseling hotline (032-772-2071), emergency temporary protection, linkage with welfare facilities and institutions, and childbirth and childcare support.

Until now, Incheon City has implemented childbirth and childcare support policies for vulnerable households, such as support for low-income single-parent families, independence support for teenage parents, and operation of welfare facilities for single-parent families. However, since various projects were dispersed, integrated support was not possible, and it was difficult to provide practical support as the target recipients were reluctant to disclose their pregnancy or childbirth.

Accordingly, the city plans to systematically support childbirth and childcare by discovering pregnant women in crisis who are in welfare blind spots through the operation of the One-Stop Support Center for Pregnant Women in Crisis.

An official from Incheon City stated, "We will strive for active support and social awareness improvement so that pregnant women in crisis, who are at the crossroads of childbirth and non-childbirth, do not give up childbirth and can raise their children."