Mapo-gu Support for Single Mothers 'Cheokkeut Center'... Gained Courage to Raise Children

Mapo-gu Opened 'Cheokkeut Center' on 2nd Floor of Public Health Center in November Last Year to Support Single Mothers Without Prejudice
Providing Customized Welfare Services from Basic Prenatal Health Care to Living Conditions and Psychological Status
Mayor Park Gang-su: "Cheokkeut Center Is a Strong Support for All Single Mothers... We Will Strive for Practical Assistance"

Mapo-gu (Mayor Park Gang-su) is giving courage to unmarried mothers through the Cheokkeut Center, which opened in November last year.

The Mapo-gu Cheokkeut Center is a facility that supports unmarried mothers to comfortably receive integrated management from the beginning to the end of pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. The term "unmarried mother" (bi-honmo) refers to not only single mothers but also adolescent pregnant women, unmarried, divorced, and widowed single mothers without the socially discriminatory connotations associated with the previously used term "mi-honmo" (unwed mother).

According to Statistics Korea, in 2022, there were 9,800 births outside of marriage, accounting for 3.9% of all births. However, due to social prejudice and environmental factors, many unmarried mothers give up childbirth or fail to timely access information on pregnancy and childbirth, public services, and economic counseling support.

Earlier this year, Kim Ga-young (alias, 28 years old), who visited the Mapo-gu Cheokkeut Center, was feeling overwhelmed after deciding to divorce during pregnancy and was uncertain whether she could raise a child alone after the divorce.

Kim said that through counseling with a nurse at the Cheokkeut Center, where she could speak comfortably, she gained the courage to give birth and raise her child. She also found peace of mind by confirming the fetus's health through pregnancy tests.

The Mapo-gu Cheokkeut Center also connected Kim, who had stopped taking antidepressants due to pregnancy but was unable to receive counseling treatment because of a month-long wait for a university hospital appointment, to a mental health welfare center for in-depth counseling.

In addition, the center guided Kim through benefits she was previously unaware of, such as the "Mom Comfortable Pregnancy" service and transportation support for pregnant women, and helped her register for them immediately.

Kim said, "I heard there are programs to prepare for childbirth, so I applied. I want to courageously prepare to welcome my new family."

As in the above case, the Mapo-gu Cheokkeut Center assigns professional nurses who provide individual counseling to unmarried mothers who call or visit, managing their pregnancy registration.

Following basic prenatal health management, support for medical expenses, and nutritional supplements, after childbirth, professional nurses visit homes to check the health of the mother and baby, assess the living conditions and psychological state such as postpartum depression, and connect them to various welfare facilities and specialized psychological counseling services within the community.

The center also provides special support for adolescent mothers, supports child-rearing expenses for unmarried mothers and fathers, and links low-income, homeless single-parent families to vocational training, self-support work, public rental housing, and the Mapo Jinggeomdari Housing Project.

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, "No one should give up childbirth and parenting due to social prejudice or practical difficulties. We will do our best to provide supportive counseling and practical assistance so that the Mapo-gu Cheokkeut Center can be a reliable pillar for unmarried mothers who feel alone."

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