Woori Bank said on March 9 it will implement the 'Our Baby in Arms' support programme to ease practical difficulties for low-income families dealing with infertility and childbirth and to help encourage births.

The programme focuses on building an effective integrated support system across the entire process of pregnancy and childbirth. Key items include infertility treatment procedure costs, postpartum care centre fees, children’s insurance premiums and the provision of newborn supplies.

The bank plans to actively provide practical support so that families do not stop infertility treatment or give up childbirth for financial reasons.

Woori Bank will support medical expenses and essential childcare costs for 50 infertility households and 50 childbirth households this year, for a total of 100 households, and plans to continue expanding the scope of support each year. It also plans to strengthen its role as a social safety net for vulnerable groups by addressing welfare blind spots.

Hwangbo Gwan-woo (황보관우), a deputy manager at Woori Bank’s social contribution department, said reducing the financial burden during the process of waiting for a child is important. He added he hopes the programme will provide practical help for infertility and childbirth families to prepare for childbirth in a stable manner and build healthy families.