Risk Management Study for Preventing Population Decline in the Low Fertility Age

Yee, Nan Hee; Song, Hyea Suk

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to identify variation in pregnancy wastage prevalence by type and age among married women aged 15~44 in Korea.
METHODS
The study data is based on 3% patient sample data extracted from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service in 2011 and 2014. For analysis, ANOVA and t-tests were performed using the SAS program. All data was weighted. RESULT: The number of women experiencing pregnancy wastage in Korea was approximately 110,000 and 114,000 in 2011 and 2014 respectively, figures 20% higher than the equivalent numbers of births in both cases. Of wastage types, spontaneous abortion was shown to have the highest prevalence, while the 30 to 34 years category represented the highest prevalence among age groups. Test outcomes regarding age difference demonstrated that, in 2011, the average maternal age in the "other abortion" type was older than that for spontaneous abortion. Age was shown to have a significant effect on surgery status; surgery experience was associated positively with maternal age.
CONCLUSION
In this study, we defined terms for pregnancy wastages, derived the diseases codes related to pregnancy wastages, and ascertained the status of pregnancy wastage among women in Korea. Consequently, we suggest that the problem of pregnancy wastage in Korea should be recognized not only as a personal, but also a community, social, and national issue.