• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.233-236
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• 2008

In recent years, Korea has experienced a steadily declining birth rate, which is a serious social problem in the country. Although living conditions have improved, the birth rates for low birth weight infants and preterm babies has increased because more and more women choose to give birth later in life and the social environment has changed. The rise in low birth weight infants may increase infant mortality rates and morbidity rates. However, the recent improvements in neonatal care has elevated the survival rate of low birth weight infants up to 90 percent and lowered the weight of the very low birth weight infants that can now be saved. In this study, we used dynamic population statistics from the Korea National Statistical Office, which represents the current trend of social stratification and the population of this period. We analyzed birth records for a seven-year period and studied the changes in the delivery rate of preterm and low birth weight infants and the problems related to those changes. The results show that the rate of low birth weight infants has increased from 3.79% to 4.35% for the past seven years. The rate of preterm babies rose from 3.79% to 4.89%. The number of babies born from mothers aged 35 or more went up from 6.69% to 11.83% of the total number of the babies born. As maternal age has risen, the risks of delivering a preterm or low birth weight infant have also increased.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.65
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• pp.55-80
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• 2021

This study attempted to find a Christian religious alternative to the seriousness of the problem of low birth rate which has become a national and social problem, and its alternative. Korea is a low birth rate country. The phenomenon of low birth rate and childbirth avoidance is a reality that not only are national problems but also Korean churches are experiencing serious problems, and will continue to affect them. It will affect the church in four major ways. First, is a sharp decline in the number of members. Second, is the decline of Sunday schools. Third, various family problems and generational conflicts will arise. And it brings problems such as a crisis of faith among members. Young people living today have an unconventional attitude toward marriage, childbirth, and parenting. But for Christians, childbirth is a way of living in that God blessed us to "be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth." In other words, childbirth must be recognized as a blessing from God, not a human decision. Therefore, we must know how precious the fetus is in front of God and that it is a precious life. Thus, we should be interested in how to nurture the life God has given. To do so the church's role is education is to shape the value of life from a biblical perspective. Therefore the church needs to see how the Christian faith of young and married couples who are about to marry, give birth, and raise children, affects the childbirth and rearing of children. And it is necessary to study what the role of church and Christian education is to solve the problem of low birth rate and to suggest alternatives. For this study, we will first identify the factors of low birth rate. Then we will confirm childbirth and the blessing of God through the Bible. Finally, the role of the church in low birth rate and educational alternatives will be presented.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.127-143
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• 2024

Objective: The purpose of this study is to develop a machine learning model to predict the subsequent childbirth intention of married women with one child, aiming to address the low birth rate problem in Korea, This will be achieved by utilizing data from the 2021 Family and Childbirth Survey conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. Methods: A prediction model was developed using the Random Forest algorithm to predict the subsequent childbirth intention of married women with one child. This algorithm was chosen for its advantages in prediction and generalization, and its performance was evaluated. Results: The significance of variables influencing the Random Forest prediction model was confirmed. With the exception of the presence or absence of leave before and after childbirth, most variables contributed to predicting the intention to have subsequent childbirth. Notably, variables such as the mother's age, number of children planned at the time of marriage, average monthly household income, spouse's share of childcare burden, mother's weekday housework hours, and presence or absence of spouse's maternity leave emerged as relatively important predictors of subsequent childbirth intention.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2021.05a
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• pp.496-498
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• 2021

In Korea, based on the high fertility rate before 1980, the total population has been steadily increasing, and since the mid-1980s, the fertility rate has fallen sharply and has fallen below the level of population replacement. The cause of low birth rate in the region is not voluntary rejection, but rather, it is necessary to find out the cause by identifying the structural causes of the local community from various angles. We collected local Internet news and local representative cafe data, where many mothers participate, based on the budget area with a very low fertility rate among various areas. Factors of childbirth inhibition were analyzed by using the frequency of concurrent words that became issues related to population decline, low birthrate, and child-rearing welfare.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.685-701
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• 2015

The low fertility rate and the unprecedented rapid pace of population aging is a significant factor degrading the national competitiveness and the social security system of Korea. The government has implemented various maternity incentives to alleviate the low birth problem; however, the policy seems in effective to solve the problem of low fertility. This study proposes a conditional birth-order specific fertility rate and investigates the policy effects of fertility transition in Korea to provide a basis for more effective policy development. The use of a conditional birth-order specific fertility rate allows for an effective calculation of the change and the effect in total fertility rate than a birth-order specific fertility rate. We compare the effects of the total fertility rate according to various scenarios that enables us to calculate how the total fertility rate can achieve the current multi-child childbirth support policy of the government and estimate how the total fertility rate can be achieved when focusing on the first or second childbirth support policy. We also summarize the research results on policy development for a practical increase in the childbirth that considers the rapid decrease in women of childbearing age (15-49 years) due to continued low fertility and present the number of childbirths in accordance with the total fertility rate.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.558-567
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• 2016

In the case of France which was successful in improving the ultra-low fertility rates of birth and South Korea, from the late 1980s, the birth rate fell continuously. In 1994, total fertility rate fell 1.66, but thanks to the active family policy of the government in the mid 1990s, it grew and maintained 2.0 average since the year 2008 until now. This study examined carefully how France was not classified as advanced welfare state, overcame the obstacles of low fertility problem in the socio-economic and institutional side and trying to get some suggestions from South Korea in which it of such problems in the field of low fertility.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.29-40
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• 2004

The fertility rate of Korea has rapidly decreased to the lowest in the World. The fertility rate below replacement fertility level might result in many social problems. First, this study investigated the cause of low fertility rate. Second, the theories of the relationship between fertility rate and women's employment were reviewed. The previous studies suggested that the fertility rate was not always related to women's employment negatively and there was mediating factors between them. Third, the various factors that mediated the negative relationship between fertility rate and women's employment were described in personal, family and social levels. Finally, this study suggested the policies and strategies to solve the low fertility rate problem in Korea.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 2004

Low birth rate problem in Korea has been mainly derived from the increasing number of female employment and the change of consciousness of female. According to the recent report, some other causes of low birth rate are from the difficulty of using childcare facilities with quality services and the relative lack of quantities of the facilities. The basic principle of childcare includes protection, education, nutrition, safety, service to parents, and correlation with community. Childcare has been deemed to be the social system even to guarantee the parents' right of work. Even though a lot of progress has been made in childcare facilities by changes for a long period of time, the research on the actual condition shows that there are relatively little changes of the space organization of the childcare facilities reflecting characteristics of community and developmental characteristics of infants and children. Now a days it has been appeared as a social problem that childcare has to be needed as a part of systematic education program for such an important infant era.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.72
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• pp.49-70
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to suggest a response and solution through Christian educational care to the crisis and change of the era of low birth rate faced by Korean society and the Korean church. This study proposes to find an alternative to the biblical aspect of pregnancy, childbirth, and parenthood as God's blessing for the demographic cliff and low birth rate problem that have become a reality in Korean society and churches. Being a parent in an age of low birth rate is very difficult, but on the other hand, it gives happiness and joy. Being a parent is a blessing from God, and is the most important and valuable thing in life. However, modern society emphasizes the right and necessity to choose one's own parenthood status. In the nuclear family, the decrease in the number of children, and the development of child research, parents feel more responsibility and economic burden for raising children than ever before. Therefore, it is a reality that the number of people who delay becoming parents or voluntarily do not have children is gradually increasing. To improve the perception of becoming a parent due to a decrease in responsibility for raising children, it is necessary to shed light on marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, and childrearing from a Christian educational point of view. In addition, it is necessary to understand the recognition of being a parent and the characteristics of childbirth and rearing, and to analyze past and present value changes. This study will also discuss the causes of low birthrate and try to provide Christian educational care for childcare including solving the low birthrate problem.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.13-21
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• 2020

As Korea's low birth rate has become a serious social problem, various government-level policy initiatives have been proposed to introduce and expand family-friendly personnel systems for work-family balance. The main causes of low birthrates in Korea are the increased participation of women in economic activities and the difficulties of work-family balance. As part of women's policy, support policies were introduced at various levels such as family-friendly institutions and flexible working systems, but they did not have much effect as an alternative to low birth rates. The implications of family-friendly institutions within the organization beyond low birthrates, which are continuously present, have greater implications at the time of new social transformation. This paper will investigate and discuss the implications of family-friendly policies and the implications of the flexible working system in the civil services.