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Birth rate and neonatal mortality are two important indicators that represent the heath－care situation of a nation. This article reviews the changes in birth rate, incidence and mortality of prematurity, low birth weight infant (LBWI), and very LBWI (VLBWI) in Korea over the past decades. The crude birth rate has decreased remarkably in Korea. The total number of live－birth infants was 438,062 and the birth rate was 9.0/1,000 population in Korea. The incidence of prematurity, LBWI, and VLBWI showed an increasing trend nowadays, with 8.4%, 7.2%, and 1.4%, respectively, which were similar with those in Japan and USA. Since hospitals began to have neonatal nursery units in the 1960s, the mortality rate of LBWI and VLBWI has decreased remarkably over the last 40 years. The decrease in mortality rates of LBW and VLBWI due to the progress of neonatology is very encouraging, since the recent rates are comparable to those in developed countries such as Japan and USA. We need to make further efforts to reduce the infant mortality rate by reducing the mortality of LBWI and VLBWI.
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