Postpartum as your makeover.

INSIGHT

Postnatal care is no longer just about baby, but about oxygen masking up mummy first.

There’s a reason why traditional postpartum confinement was often equated to going to prison for Chinese mothers: imagine being stuck at home for 100 days, with your overbearing mother-in-law, without being able to bathe or really move around, and being force-fed pig trotters, spoonfuls of vinegar, ginger and more hard boiled eggs than you’ve eaten in your lifetime. The modernization of the postnatal care industry along with declining rates of pregnancy in both Taipei and first-tier Chinese cities is turning a traditional experience about caring for baby into a lavish pampering experience that’s catering to mummy.

Zuo yue zi (or “sitting for a month”) is a very wide-spread practice in the Greater China region and even making its way to English-speaking Chinese communities overseas, where the continued modernization of the practice is turning on non-Chinese customers to the experience. The idea that a woman’s body used to be cared for by other women in traditional societies has all but disappeared with our modern expectations. Today, you deliver your baby, hang out in a hospital for a few days to make sure everyone's not gonna die, then head home shortly after to manage the madness alone. It's no wonder postpartum depression is on the rise. Traditional values are finally making an innovative comeback through specialized nursing care that puts mother first and looks at postpartum care and connection as a big part of her ability to take care of baby.

Beyond the pampering (which in China includes 5-star hotel facilities, yoga, heated floors, services for daddy to stay and work, and full-nights rests while your baby is fed by a doula), there is also ample education for new mothers who no longer have the luxury of information flow from other tribal members to pass the baton of childrearing knowhow. But this way, it’s even more informed: learning not only how to breast feed, bathe, soothe and swaddle your infant, but also how to put your hips back together with binding, strength train for incontinence issues, and get adequate nutrition so you can heal as your baby develops in a healthy way. All while basically living at a spa so you can heal quickly. All of this useful education comes at a price, but sends off mom, much more capable and confident to take care of her baby at home once she takes off the training wheels of her luxury confinement experience, ready to ride motherhood alone.

INSPIRATION

Ma Cherie Post-Partum Center

Ma Cherie Post Partum Center in Taiwan is one of the most renown centers for caring for new mothers with top-notch care and comfort. From specialty-designed healthy menus, 5-star accommodations using natural materials and excellent air quality, yoga classes, baby care courses and countless massages to get mother and baby healing quickly, this center attracts the rich and famous across the region for 30-some days of much-needed TLC.

This is like checking yourself into a wellness resort for a personal holiday, only you happened to have just delivered a baby and will be getting pampering for two. Imagine being able to sleep through the night as your personal doula tends to baby during the graveyard shift if you need some extra shut-eye. You're on a personalized program where you also get to call the shots, and you actually have a specialized team as your village to help raise the little one as you build back your body for parenting. Sign. me. up.

INNOVATION

Peach Packs

A luxurious brand of pregnancy-friendly (pre-and-post natal) products delivered in four term-specific packs to door that do not disrupt hormone cycles but also give the added trace mineral and vitamin boosts needed during this special time for a woman, all the while making her feel gorgeous and balanced.

• A high-end boutique line of personal care products and supplements for pregnant women who don’t want to upset their natural equilibrium for stases during those precious 12 months (including 3 months after) of baby and body care.

• All ingredients fully natural and uses Traditional Chinese Medicine ingredients (adaptogens) that are pregnancy-appropriate to assist in those moments of pregnancy that are not so glamorous (swollen legs/feet, morning sickness, fatigue, sore back, warmth, post-natal fatigue).

• The line offers several products for each term that are delivered upon this one-time annual subscription and comes with educational materials on how to better care for the self during the pregnancy, and in turn, caring for the baby.