Miscarriages, stillbirths rise: report

Nearly 40,000 babies were lost to miscarriages or stillbirths in the first half of this year in South Korea, government data distributed a lawmaker's report showed Monday.

From January to June, there were 39,295 miscarriages and 121 stillbirths, according to the National Health Insurance Service data submitted to Rep. Baek Jong-heon of the ruling People Power Party.

A miscarriage is defined as the loss of a baby before the 20th week of pregnancy, while stillbirths are defined as the loss of baby after that. The data does not include abortion cases.

While the total number of pregnancies has fallen, the figures for miscarriages and stillbirths have increased over the past decade, according to the data provided. About 20.13 percent of known pregnancies ended in miscarriages and stillbirths in 2013, and the portion grew to 21.87 percent in 2017 and 24 percent in the years from 2020 to 2022.

The share climbed to 25.43 percent in the first half, the highest since 2013, which is the earliest year for which data was included on the report.

Generally, experts say an increase in the average age of women at childbirth correlates with a higher risk of pregnancy loss.

The average age of women giving birth to their first child was 33 in 2023, up from 30.7 in 2013, according to Statistics Korea. This figure makes South Korea's first-time mothers the oldest among the 38 OECD member countries. Mothers who gave birth after age 35, who are classified as "high-risk," accounted for 36.3 percent of all births last year, in comparison to 20.2 percent a decade prior.