Postpartum care or postnatal care is a service provided to individuals in the postpartum period, to help with postpartum recuperation and restoration.

Traditional postpartum care

Many traditional forms of

postpartum confinement Postpartum confinement is a traditional practice following childbirth. Those who follow these customs typically begin immediately after the birth, and the seclusion or special treatment lasts for a culturally variable length: typically for one mon ...

exist throughout the world. Chinese '' Zuo Yuezi'' (sitting the month) and European Lying-in are examples.

Korea

'' Sanhujori'' is Korea's version of postpartum care. It draws on principles that emphasize activities and foods that keep the body warm, rest and relaxation to maximize the body's return to its normal state, maintaining cleanliness, eating nutritious foods, and peace of mind and heart. The confinement period is known as ''samchil-il'' (three seven days).

Modern commercial versions

Traditionally, women were taken care of by their elders: their mother, mother-in-law, sister, or aunt. The lying-in hospitals provided an institutional variation which gave women weeks of bedrest and a respite from household chores. Increasingly, these older women are unavailable or unwilling to take on this role; given the lingering effects of the one-child policy, many older Chinese women had limited experience of newborn babies, having only had one themselves. Replacements for this familial help are commercial services, both in the home and at residential centres.

At home

Agencies provide specialist carers that come to the new parents' home. This job used to be known as the monthly nurse, as she came and lived with the family for a month. Now more common terms are maternity nurse, newborn care specialist, or confinement nanny; the worker is not a registered health care professional such as the word " nurse" usually implies in current English. In

Indian English Indian English (IE) is a group of English dialects spoken in the republic of India and among the Indian diaspora. English is used by the Indian government for communication, along with Hindi, as enshrined in the Constitution of India. E ...

the role is called a "''japa'' maid". A doula is best known as a birth companion, but some provide practical and emotional post-birth support. A

lactation consultant A lactation consultant is a health professional who specializes in the clinical management of breastfeeding. The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) certifies lactation consultants who meet its criteria and have passed ...

and a health visitor are trained health professionals who may assist the new mother at this time. In the Netherlands, the in-home support is known as '' kraamzorg'', and standard within the national health insurance system. The use of ''yue sao'', a specialist carer translated in Canada as "postpartum doula", is also very common in China. ''Yue sao'' typically are live-in domestic helpers who care for both the new mother and baby for the first month after birth. Salaries as at 2017 vary from RMB8000 to RMB20000 per month depending on city and experience. They are described as "mothering the mother". Australian documentary-maker Aela Callan called them "Chinese supermums" but says they are colloquially known as "confinement ladies".

Residential facilities

Companies have sprung up to offer extended postpartum care outside the home, sometimes in a hotel-like environment. Luxury options are a business. Private postpartum care centres were introduced to Korea in 1996 under the name of '' sanhujoriwon''. Within the Chinese tradition, specialist businesses such as Red Wall Confinement Centre charge up to $27,000 for one month. In Taiwan, postpartum nursing centres are popular, for those who can afford them. Birth tourism centres operating under the radar in the United States for Chinese women offer "sitting the month".

References