Big need for mother-and-baby nurses

Auspicious year for births will create stiff competition in the care sector

BEIJING - The Year of the Dragon is expected to lead to a baby boom because of the belief that children born in it will be endowed with good luck and have a propitious life.

As a result, demand has risen for confinement nurses (yuesao), who are responsible for taking care of new mothers and their newly born infants for a period of time, especially the first month after they give birth.

"The number of people asking for information about yuesao has surged since the start of the year," said Li Lin, a communications officer at Baby Care & Education Co Ltd, a maternity business.

"One of our clients even called to make a reservation for a confinement nurse in September," she added.

A confinement nurse is much more than a babysitter. She has to be in charge of the diet of both mothers and babies, the physical recovery of women after childbirth and care of babies mentally and physically.