Future of neonatology in Korea: the way forward

Throughout the past several decades in Korea, the field of neonatology has developed enormously along with the advancement of modern neonatal intensive care units, which has resulted in significant improvement of treatment effectiveness for high-risk newborn and premature infants. Since the deaths of newborn infants are closely related to the infant death rate - one of the most important indicators of national health - neonatal intensive care is significant as a major element of the basic infrastructure of the national healthcare system. In Korea, where a noteworthy decrease in birth rates and an aging population has serious consequences for the future, interest at the national level and policy support for neonatal intensive care as well as for the effective continuous and systematic organization of perinatal care is strongly needed. Important topics for future exploration in the field of neonatology in Korea include the establishment of regionalization and organization of an effective perinatal care system, active quality improvement in neonatal care, and the improvement of evidence-based neonatal medicine through active multicenter clinical trials and the development of new research subjects for unresolved problems in the neonatal field. In addition, suggestions for multidisciplinary treatment and interest in family-oriented and developmental care for newborn infants as well as long-term follow-up research after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit will also be discussed.