Study: Foreign Women in South Korea Face Lower Obstacle Risk

Registered foreign women giving birth in South Korea face a lower risk of major obstetric complications than native-born Korean women, according to a nationwide study published on October 2.

National Delivery Claims Reveal Equal Or Lower Complication Rates

The study examined 202,690 childbirth cases from 2022, captured in claims data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Researchers defined immigrant women as registered foreign females within the resident registration system. Over the decade spanning from 2013 to 2022, total annual deliveries nationwide dropped by roughly half, falling from 405,784 down to 202,690. The proportion of all deliveries accounted for by immigrant mothers climbed from 4.04% in 2013 to a peak of 6.26% in 2020 before settling at 5.31%, representing 10,772 births in 2022, according to m.dailymedipharm.com and dailymedipharm.com.

When evaluating severe obstetric complications—including preeclampsia, eclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, placenta previa, placental abruption, dystocia, preterm birth, perineal laceration, and obstetric hemorrhage—the unadjusted incidence rates were similar between the groups. Specifically, 24.1% of immigrant mothers experienced one or more major complications, compared to 25.9% of Korean-born mothers, translating to roughly 25 out of every 100 women in both populations. However, after adjusting for confounding variables such as age, medical security type, residential region, and prenatal care utilization, the risk of major complications among immigrant women dropped to about 9% lower than that of native-born peers, as reported by m.dailymedipharm.com and dailymedipharm.com.

Specific disease breakdowns revealed that immigrant mothers had an approximate 36% lower risk of gestational hypertension and an 18% lower risk of dystocia, or difficult labor. These risk reductions were particularly pronounced among mothers under the age of 35, whereas women aged 35 and older showed no statistically significant difference between the two cohorts, indicating that advanced maternal age equalizes complication risks regardless of migration background. Demographically, immigrant mothers averaged 30.5 years of age, making them about 2.5 years younger than the 33.0-year average for Korean-born mothers. The cesarean section rate among immigrant women stood at 49.5%, which is lower than the 56.3% rate recorded for Korean-born women, according to m.dailymedipharm.com and dailymedipharm.com.

Prenatal checkups averaged 15 visits for immigrant mothers, compared to 18 visits for native-born women. While lower, this frequency remains nearly double the minimum of eight visits recommended by the World Health Organization. Even so, the proportion of mothers receiving fewer than nine prenatal visits reached 10.1% among immigrant women, significantly higher than the 2.1% recorded for Korean-born women, according to m.dailymedipharm.com and dailymedipharm.com.

Policy Implications And The Role Of Universal Health Coverage

Unlike existing studies from multiple countries, South Korea’s immigrant women showed no higher risk of major obstetric complications than Korean-born women. This suggests that South Korea’s universal health coverage may have operated as an important protective foundation.

In addition to health insurance coverage, policy efforts are needed to ensure that migrant women can obtain necessary information from the early stages of pregnancy and receive continuous medical care without barriers of language, culture, or work and care conditions.

Lee Jin-yong, Seoul National University College of Medicine Department of Health Policy and Management

Publication And Funding Details Released In Archives Of Public Health

The completed findings were published in the latest online edition of the international public health journal Archives of Public Health, according to m.dailymedipharm.com and dailymedipharm.com.