A newborn baby unit at a Seoul hospital. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Recent data shows that roughly 50 percent of infertile couples and pregnant women before and after delivery turned out to have a higher risk of suffering from depression.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, among 3,835 individuals who underwent consultations at depression counseling centers operating under the umbrella of the ministry last year, 2,021 or 53 percent of the total were classified as being in a group with high depression risk.
The country opened four counseling centers in 2018, which have been engaged in exploration of the groups with high mental health risk who endure difficulties due to psychological or physical changes before and after pregnancy or infertility stress.
If serious mental health problems are detected during the consultation process, the centers help the applicants to receive treatment at mental health clinics.
When it comes to the counseling center at the National Medical Center, in particular, a total of 396 people underwent consultations last year, of which 74 percent or 293 were classified as belonging to a group with high depression risk.
The number of people who underwent consultations last year at the counseling centers of Gil Hospital in Incheon, Kyungpook National University Hospital in Daegu, and Hyundai Women’s Hospital in Suncheon stood at 1,359, 1,266 and 814, respectively, of which 59 percent (793), 46 percent (588) and 43 percent (347) were classified as being in a high depression risk group.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
