Maternal, infant, and perinatal mortality statistics and trends in Korea between 2018 and 2020

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to identify maternal, infant, and perinatal mortality using the national population data of South Korea between 2018 and 2020, and to analyze mortality rates according to characteristics such as age, date of death, and cause of death in each group. This study updates the most recent study using 2009 to 2017 data.Methods: Analyses of maternal, infant, and perinatal mortality were done with data identified through the supplementary investigation system for cases of death from the Census of Population Dynamics data provided by Statistics Korea from 2018 to 2020.Results: Between 2018 and 2020, a total of 99 maternal deaths, 2,427 infant deaths, and 2,408 perinatal deaths were identified from 901,835 live births. The maternal mortality ratio was 11.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018; it decreased to 9.9 in 2019 but increased again to 11.8 in 2020. The maternal mortality ratio increased steeply in women over the age of 40 years. An increasing trend in the maternal mortality ratio was found for complications related to the puerperium and hypertensive disorders. Both infant and perinatal mortality continued to decrease, from 2.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2018 to 2.5 in 2020 and from 2.8 in 2018 to 2.5 in 2020, respectively.Conclusion: Overall, the maternal, infant, and perinatal mortality statistics showed improvements. However, more attention should be paid to women over 40 years of age and specific causes of maternal deaths, which should be taken into account in Korea’s maternal and child health policies.

Regional Disparities in the Infant Mortality Rate in Korea Between 2001 and 2021

“…Notably, as reported in previous studies, Korea’s IMR has been declining; the relative and absolute disparities have tended to increase in recent years. 11 12 13 14 This is because the decline in IMR in other regions has slowed compared to that in Seoul, and various causes, including the distribution of medical resources, social determinants of health, and the physical environment, need to be considered to determine the cause. 21 …”

“…Previous studies have reported that the IMR in Korea has been continuously declining, and we analyzed the IMR trend in 16 provinces and metropolitan cities using the Joinpoint regression method to confirm whether the IMR trends in each region are similar. 11 12 13 14 The annual percent change (APC) in the IMR by region was calculated. More specifically, a maximum of two join points was set for each model, and the average APCs (AAPCs) were calculated for each segment.…”

“… 9 10 Although the IMR has improved over time in Korea, little is known about regional differences in the IMR. 11 12 13 14 Recently, pediatric departments have been experiencing a medical crisis due to the rapidly decreasing application rate of pediatric residents, resulting in a shortage of pediatricians. 15 16 Many hospitals have decided to temporarily not offer pediatric emergency, intensive care or hospitalization treatment due to a lack of medical staff, especially in noncapital areas.…”

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence platforms in 2023, journal metrics, appreciation to reviewers and volunteers, and obituary

“…This embolism is a rare puerperium complication, from which the number of deaths in Korea was 6, 9, and 10 in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. The number of deaths per 100,0000 population was 1.8, 3.0, and 3.7 in 2018, 2019, and 2020 [ 12 ].…”

Stepping stones for the future—2022 major developments, journal metrics, and appreciation for reviewers

“…High-quality studies that fit our aims and scope will be welcomed from authors over the world.We have continued to publish English manuscripts at a steady rate, which will be meaningful for international readers to access our published content. Our collaborative work with Statistics Korea also continued in 2022, resulting in a statistics paper [3].…”