By Kim Jae-heun
The number of maternity hospitals has almost halved in the last decade, leaving only 603 across the country.
The low birthrate has played a big part in the closure of the hospitals with the number of births marking their lowest point ever in 2016.
According to the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service's report Thursday, the number of maternity hospitals decreased by 46.1 percent in 2016 from 1,119 in 2006.
During the period, the number of births dropped 8.5 percent from 437,096 to 400,067.
A decrease in the number of natural births was also observed.
Mothers having natural birth fell 17.4 percent from those in 2006. Only 231,009 mothers underwent natural birth in 2016.
Meanwhile, mothers having caesarean sections increased from 157,429 to 169,058. As late marriage has become a social trend, the age of women becoming pregnant and giving birth went up and many older women choose to undergo caesarean section.
The number of births by caesarean section accounted for 42.3 percent of all births last year. Ten years ago, the percentage for births by caesarean section was 6.3 percent. Caesarean births from 2006 to 2013 increased by more than 1 percent per year to reach over 40 percent in 2015.
Mothers ranging in age from 30 to 34 had the most babies using this method, accounting for 47.4 percent of all births, followed by women aged between 35 to 39 who accounted for 22.8 percent.