Yuezi centers are Chinese facilities where new mothers can spend a month taking things easy after giving birth. It costs $15,000 to get admitted in the centre, where mothers can avail of healthcare professionals and nutrition specialists. New mothers can relax in bed while nannies take care of their children. The centres are modelled on the yuezi, a tradition where new mothers stay in bed and others take care of the home and child.
However, the yuezis come with a catch. Mothers aren’t allowed to come and go as they please. They must stay inside for a month, so as to ‘avoid the perils and germs of the outside world’.
Their diet is also highly regulated. They cannot eat oily and salty foods, given the fact that they are breastfeeding.
In the traditional yuezi setting, the woman is not allowed to watch TV, not allowed to cry, wash her hair or have sex. After Beijing ended its one-child policy, these sorts of luxury centres have been coping up as an alternative to yuezis at home.
But even at these luxury yuezis, it is hard to escape. Why do women check themselves into these centres? Most often, it is to escape from being burdened by well-meaning relatives and mothers-in-law.
“My mom is a retired doctor, but some of her knowledge is outdated,” said 34-year-old old Wang Song. “My mother-in-law also has her ideas of what’s good for me. It’s really tiresome just to deal with the relationships.” She checked herself into one of these centres after the birth of her second child.
To go in and out of the centre, the administrators need to know the reasons for leaving, and even issue exit permits.
“My daughter and I got meticulous care, but it was like a well-equipped prison,” said Ye Zhen who spent some time in the facility.
Also Read: Australian Girl With Cerebral Palsy Climbs Great Wall Of China
Picture Credit: Kqed
Follow Us/shethepeople/media/agency_attachments/iUYfaBbcMozaYLoGnoov.png)
