The National Family Planning Program as a Strategic Platform for the Improvement of Maternal and Child Health in Kore

ABSTRACT

The health conditions under which the mothers and children of Korea live are not adequate. We realize that the needs in the field of MCH a re enormous, but that it is unrealistic and unwise to use the entire health budget of 4.9 million dollars to build maternity and pediatric hospitals. There must be an extensive program to reduce the number of births as well as the number of deaths if the living standrds in Korea are to improve. The success of Korea's health program is closely related to the general economic development. Without a reduction in the number of births it seems impossible that a successful economic development program can be planned, or executed. In the first five years of the program the group successfully reached by the family planning program was largely the receptive, motivated women in the older child bearing age group. A strategic platform for the success of the next five year plan would be to concentrate on the younger less motivated mothers; to educate them to better family spacing and child care. Inclusion of family planning in a comprehensive, total maternal and child care program seems a rational and effective approach. Therefore a successful national family planning program would seem to be a sound basic platform on which to base maternal and child health work as well as the economic development program in Korea. We need not repeat here the merits of family planning in Korea. A1ready the national program has accomplished much towards improving the health of Korea's mothers and children. It is hoped that in the coming decade the family planning program will go beyond the immediate aim of curbing the explosive population growth and adopt as its long-term objective promotion of total maternal and chi1d health. This objective can only be achieved by good organization, careful planning, competent staff and an adequate budget. A comprehensive maternal and child health program should include better care of children, responsible parenthood, marriage guidance, maternity care, and sterility correction all leading to better mental and physical health.