Source: Global Times
【Global Times reporter Ding Yayan, Global Times special correspondent in Thailand, Japan and the United States, Leng Jiangtao, Wang Xiaojun, Zheng Ke】The "confinement" video shared by a Canadian blogger recently became popular on the Internet. In 2022, 33-year-old Taylor gave birth to her first child in Hong Kong, China, and she decided to hire a confinement sister-in-law as she Chinese habitually. In the video shared by Taylor, Mother Chen, the concubine set up many "rules" for her and brought a variety of healing secrets. The confinement sister-in-law will also give the new mother a abdominal massage and wrap the abdominal belt to help her regain her figure. Taylor said in the video: "These practices are to help mothers recover so that they have the health to take care of their babies and families. ”
For Taylor, Chen's mother's company has a more important meaning, that is, to help her adjust to her motherhood. Taylor explained that the confinement sister-in-law will teach the couple how to change diapers, breastfeed, and bathe the child, and also tell them how to distinguish the child's emotions and how to judge the child's health. "Without a confinement sister-in-law, I don't know how to spend this time." She said.
At present, the video has been viewed nearly 3 million times. The traditional Chinese form of postpartum care, "confinement", has also been widely discussed. Many foreign netizens left messages lamenting, "I really hope that I can enjoy such postpartum support when I give birth to my first child." If only I had received more than half the help you had then. "This kind of care is so important for new mothers..." "Postpartum care is fantastic!" I was kicked out of the hospital two days after a cesarean section and came home with a pile of dirty laundry and cooking as usual. I envy you so much! ”
The tradition of "confinement" gave birth to the confinement center industry. According to data from iMedia Consulting, the market size of China's confinement center industry reached 20.4 billion yuan in 2021. As of July 2022, among the 11 popular cities in China, the highest per capita consumption of confinement centers is Shanghai, with an average price of 125,062.6 yuan.
CNN said that "confinement" is big business in many parts of Asia. According to a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Consumer Council in 2021 on 19 companies or institutions providing postnatal care, the price of a live-in sister-in-law in Hong Kong ranged from HK$63,800 to HK$268,000, and the price of a confinement sister-in-law who worked eight hours a day ranged from HK$21,000 to HK$34,000.
In fact, traditions similar to China's "confinement" also exist in other countries. According to the New York Times, in Latin American culture, a mother who has just given birth has a 40-day break, and people in the community help her with household chores. Koreans also believe that the postpartum period is very challenging and women need some support and help during this time.
According to the "Global Confinement Center Market Research Report" released by the US market research institute "Market Insight Report" recently, the global confinement center market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.5% from 2023 to 2029.
US: Postpartum health is grossly neglected
"I hope the United States will also be more concerned about mothers." This is a message from an American mom in the Taylor video comment area. Since the average paid maternity leave in the United States is only 11 days, many new mothers are returning to work before adjusting to the postpartum life. Being able to rest at home for a month and have someone to take care of your daily life is a luxury for many new mothers.
Sapienza, the founder of an obstetric health clinic in New York, told The New York Times that postpartum health is grossly neglected in the United States. The maternal mortality rate in the United States is higher than in other developed countries, with higher rates among women of color.
Nancy Myrick, director of the San Francisco Childbirth Center, said there is a great lack of postpartum care in the United States. Mothers can only stay in the hospital for up to 48 hours and then see a doctor again after another 6 weeks. This lack of attention and support often leads mothers into a "crisis state" in which they do not know who to turn to because they are unable to cope with a range of problems such as insomnia, breastfeeding or postpartum depression. Given the challenges of the postpartum period for new mothers and the lack of institutions to support them, Merrick supported the emergence of postnatal care centres. "It's really regrettable that we don't have any way to really support maternity systematically," she said. I hope this (care centre) will be a place where people can get the support and care they need. ”
Before the advent of postpartum care centers, there was a nursing profession called "doula" in the United States that could accompany pregnant women through childbirth and postpartum adjustment, but could not provide as comprehensive services as nursing centers.
In recent years, the US medical system has paid more attention to postpartum care, and the Chinese "confinement" is also known to more and more Americans. Last year, an institution called "Baonan Postpartum Care" was officially put into operation in New York, USA, which attracted widespread attention.
In July, the first luxury postpartum health center on the West Coast of the United States will open in San Francisco. The care centre, called the Postnatal Care Village, is a place where new mothers can relax, enjoy pampering, receive lactation specialist support and attend newborn care classes. Although the center is expensive, there is an endless stream of people who come to consult it, and 50 expectant mothers are already lining up before it opens.
Southeast Asia: The customer base is still predominantly Chinese
Anne is a postnatal nurse at Elysiam Confinement Centre in Thailand and previously worked at a confinement centre in Malaysia. Annie told the Global Times that confinement centers are a new industry in Thailand and are not as mature as those in China and Malaysia. It is understood that the confinement center where Anne works was established in 2017 and currently has only one store in Bangkok.
In contrast, Malaysia's health market is more large-scale, and there are already many related chain organizations. According to Malaysia's Sin Chew Daily, Esther Confinement Centre Malaysia has opened four branches in six years, three of which are located in Kuala Lumpur, and the latest one opened in Cheras in January this year. According to local media reports, as of October 2019, the number of confinement centers in Malaysia has reached 385. Due to salary levels and other reasons, some confinement wives in Malaysia will work in Singapore, Australia and other places, and only about 40% of confinement wives will stay in Malaysia, so the local confinement sister-in-law is still facing a shortage of confinement wives.
Vicky who lives in Singapore for a long time is a mother of four children, and Vicky said that confinement centers are not popular in Singapore because the labor cost in Singapore is too high, and it is not as cost-effective to go to confinement centers as to hire confinement sisters-in-law. The local confinement market is small and insufficient to support the operation of confinement centers. "Many Singaporean families hire maids and take a one-month wive-in-law from abroad during confinement," she said. According to Vickie, most of the local confinement sisters-in-law are from Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar, and users in need need need to apply for a confinement permit from the Ministry of Manpower to invite confinement to Singapore. The Singapore Government also strongly supports family postnatal care and expects to increase fertility rates by extending maternity leave. From January 2024, the government-subsidized paternity leave for working fathers, including self-employed people, will be increased from two weeks to four weeks, according to Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao.
Although "confinement" has become popular on overseas social media, according to the situation in the Southeast Asian market, the main customer group is still Chinese. According to Mr. Li, the person in charge of the Elysiam confinement center in Thailand, the main service objects of the confinement center are still overseas Chinese, mainly from China, Malaysia and other places, and Thai locals rarely choose confinement centers. Corresponding to the comprehensive postnatal care service is its hefty price. Mr. Li revealed that the current price of the 30-day package at the confinement center is about 200,000 baht (about 40,000 yuan). Lingling, who gave birth in Thailand in early 2020, said that only wealthy Thai families choose postpartum care, and it is difficult for ordinary families to pay high costs.
Thai mother Katie believes that there is no confinement culture in Thailand, but postpartum care is necessary for both the mother and the newborn. Ms. Lin, a staff member of a confinement center in Thailand, said that although on the surface, foreigners' acceptance of "confinement" has increased, there are big cultural differences between China and foreign countries, and in the short term, the main customers of confinement centers should still be Chinese.
Day Specialist: Increase postpartum care to slow the decline in fertility
Before talking to a Japanese friend about "confinement", she said that when she gave birth, she went back to her hometown to live for about 3 weeks, and asked her mother to help take care of the baby together. However, even if someone helps, Japanese mothers will mostly do it themselves. Japan encourages normal activities for women and believes that they can help restore their body shape.
In terms of postnatal care, the Japanese government will provide some postpartum care and childcare support to mothers. For example, each district has a postpartum care center, and the local government will cover part of the cost. In a nursing center in Kobe City, for example, the cost of a meal included is 13,000 yen (about 660 yuan) per day, and the individual needs to pay 6,500 yen. A nursing center in Tokyo's Setagaya ward only accepts women in the ward, and charges 9,000 yen for the first day and 4,500 yen from the second day. However, the main purpose of these district nursing centres, run by the Association of Midwives, is to reach out when women need it most, so they can only stay for about a week.
In recent years, Japan's newborn population has continued to decline, but the childbearing age of mothers has continued to increase. The average age of women giving birth to their first child was 25.9 years in 1975 and rose to 30.9 years in 2021. To meet the needs of older mothers and high-income people, luxury postpartum care hotels have emerged in Japan in recent years, similar to confinement centers in China. According to the website of Singapore's Channel News Asia, hotel postnatal care services are becoming increasingly popular in Japan. Even though the price is as high as 60,000 yen per night, some hotels are still fully booked. Postnatal care hotels have appeared in cities such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Kawasaki, and Yokosuka. "Mama's Garden" in Kanagawa Prefecture is one of the largest postpartum care hotels in Japan. All kinds of services are available here. Of course, the price is not cheap, the minimum stay is 10 days, and the cheapest 10-day set meal for mother and son is 420,000 yen.
As the fertility rate continues to decline, Kaoru Ichikawa, a professor of maternal nursing at Tokyo University of Information Sciences, said in an interview with Japanese media that "if more support can be received after childbirth, more women will be willing to have more children", and he called on "local governments to expand the number of outsourcing service companies, including postpartum care hotels." Another effective measure is for businesses to include postnatal care services as part of their benefits. ”