already had 10 spa treatments.
The parents are particularly
grateful for their introduction to
baby care. Since most of today’s
mainlanders have grown up without
siblings or cousins, they are simply
not used to babies. Even Sun’s
grandmother – who is going to pay
for all the expenses – expresses her
gratitude. “I’m a better business lady
than nurse – so I’m glad that I needn’t
look after her during her confinement
period. I don’t want to stay in for four
weeks either.”
Traditional Chinese Medicine
practitioners make regular checks
on the ladies, and paediatricians are
available, too, to check on the babies.
The Chinese doctor often prescribes
different herbal drinks according
to the lady’s condition – it’s one of
innumerable little details that might
justify the high costs. The wholesome
meals can be chosen from a menu,
and are presented as if from a five-
star restaurant. The yue saos seem
extremely knowledgeable and friendly,
especially next to some of the nervous
and inexperienced mummies.
Moving with the times
“We emphasise a very friendly,
familiar atmosphere”, says Johnny
Han, the CEO of Care Bay, who was
formerly a banker. “And we keep
up with the times! Washing hair is
supposed to be a standard here.”
He mentions that only recently a
woman in Shanghai died because
she had taken her confinement rules
too seriously. On hot summer days
she wouldn’t let go of her winter
blankets, nor would she switch on
the air conditioning or leave the bed.
The origin of these rules date back to
the Middle Ages when people were
living in cold houses built of mud, and
they got their water from dirty wells.
Nevertheless, supposedly more than
50 per cent of all mums in China still
respect the old, strict rules, depending
on how their mum or their chosen yue
sao interprets them.
People who prefer to do their
month with a yue sao at home have
to hire her four months before giving
birth. Most mummies-to-be choose a
yue sao via established agencies like
“Xin Bei”, where they can choose
from big photo albums. The office of
Xin Bei is in a converted apartment
of a residential building in the central
district of Shanghai. In the middle
of the room is a huge dining table
where expecting families meet their
yue sao for the first time. Zhao Hui
Ming, a resolute lady with a short
grey pixie cut, is always there to make
sure a couple finds the right person.
She used to work as a sociologist,
but she realised that, sooner or later,
the grandmothers would be too busy
or too far away to take care of their
daughter’s confinements. That’s why
she has trained over 200 yue saos
in the last 10 years. Her minimal
requirement is that her yue saos have
a general certificate of secondary
education and must have children
themselves.
The average rate for an
experienced yue sao in Shanghai
can go up from US$1,200 to 2,000,
per month. Here in Hong Kong
they can make even more. Maggie
Lai is such a highly skilled yue sao
who is self-employed, works without
an agency, and gets all her work via
word of mouth recommendations.
Previously she worked in Beijing, but
since coming to Hong Kong she has
doubled her salary. When she works in
a house, on call 24 hours a day, she is
paid HK$40,000 a month.
And having a yue sao all day round
means you needn’t lift a finger. During
the night, the yue sao brings the child
for nursing. Cooking is also one of her
main duties. The meals are created
depending on the amount of blood
a new mum lost during birth, and
depending on which kind of delivery
she had, a natural birth or c-section.
Traditionally in the first weeks a
new mum should eat a lot of soups,
and later she can have chicken and
steamed fish with very little salt and
oil. Consequently, most yue saos start
their days in the supermarket, buying
fresh fish, tofu, veggies, lots of ginger
and dates – highly nutritious food, but
not always tasty.
Mums on the Hong Kong Moms
Facebook group are convinced it’s a
great experience. “My confinement
lady was lovely during the two times
I hired her. I felt so pampered the
first time round as all I did was sleep,
eat and feed”, wrote one. Another
mum posted: “The most difficult
thing for me to live with was not
washing my hair. So I bargained with
my confinement lady and, with my
research done, I got to wash my hair
after 10 days, with Chinese herbal
boiled water. After that, everything
else was a breeze.”
February 2016
55
