Baby born aboard emergency helicopter on New Year's Day as Korea sees signs of birth-rate rebound

A nurse tends to newborns at Ilsan CHA Hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province/ Yonhap
SEOUL, January 01 (AJP) - A baby girl was born aboard a Jeju fire-service helicopter on New Year’s Day as first responders rushed a pregnant woman requiring emergency surgery to a mainland hospital, local authorities said Thursday.

According to the Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters, a request came in at 11:30 a.m. from an obstetrics clinic in Jeju City seeking air transport for a woman in her 30s suffering from premature rupture of membranes at 30 weeks of pregnancy.

A rescue helicopter was dispatched, and the woman delivered the child mid-flight at 1:17 p.m. Both the mother and newborn are in stable condition, officials said.

The rare airborne birth comes as South Korea shows early signs of a tentative rebound in childbirth numbers.

Government data indicate the country’s total fertility rate reached 0.81 in October, up from 0.79 a year earlier, raising the possibility that annual figures may return to the 0.8 range for the first time in four years. The rebound follows a modest recovery in 2024, when the fertility rate rose to 0.75 after hitting a record low of 0.72 in 2023.

Analysts say rising marriage numbers, a slight increase in the population of women in their 30s and improving perceptions around childbirth are contributing to the shift. Still, South Korea remains far below the OECD average of 1.43 and well under the population-replacement level of 2.1.
Candice Kim 기자 candicekim1121@ajupress.com