We Want To Live In This Chinese Postpartum Hotel

Here in America, we often describe the immediate postpartum period as “being in the trenches” and it’s easy to understand why. Hospital stays are brief — between 24 and 48 hours for a vaginal birth and about two to three days for a c-section — and paid maternity leave is, famously, non-existent if your job doesn’t provide it for you. Looking for social support like baby nurses, home visits, or doctor’s visits beyond one six-week checkup? Get your head out of the clouds, you silly dreamer! As such, many moms have a rough go of this time, but physically and mentally. So when we saw TikTok user Aileen Wang’s (@aileenw1113) look at a swanky postpartum hotel in China, we were filled with instant, intense longing and no small degree of FOMO.

Wang takes viewers along to visit a co-worker who’s just recently given birth at an absolutely luxe maternity hotel during zuò yuè zǐ which she describes as “kind of like a cozy, VIP jail for new moms,” but it’s more often translated as “sitting the month.” For the first 30 to 40 days after giving birth, mama is resting.

Wang explains her friend will have six-month paid maternity leave, which is somewhat longer than average paid maternity leave in China, which is typically a little over five months but can last as long as a year and a half depending on where you live.

Moreover, and we hate to be the ones to tell you this, but this luxurious experience isn’t exactly “standard issue.” While deeply rooted in a tradition many women will enjoy regardless of socioeconomic status— more on that in a bit — spending the month in a hotel like this can cost anywhere from about ¥40,000 (about $5,000) to upwards of $11,000. To put that in perspective even further, the average salary in mainland China is about ¥350,000 or just under $49,000 a year.

But still, no harm in swooning over this absolutely gorgeous fusion of traditional healing practices and top-of-the-line service, which includes six meals a day, a 24-hour nanny, parenting classes, socializing with other moms, and massage.

Zuò yuè zǐ is an ancient practice, first recorded more than 2,000 years ago. Though specific details about an individual’s postpartum confinement may vary from region to region or family to family, the rules usually include remaining in doors (hence “confinement”), bundling up (you want to be nice and warm), not eating certain foods (spicy, acidic, or cold are right out), and avoiding any heavy lifting or strenuous activity.

Traditionally, new moms in China spend their first postpartum month resting as much as possible with female relatives — particularly their mother-in-law and or mother — maintaining the house and caring for both mom and baby. Other cultures also practice similar care traditions for new moms, including India, Mexico and Korea, each with their own beliefs, prescriptions, and ceremonies.

If this all sounds like something you’d be interested in for yourself, well, you might just be in luck... that is if you’re lucky enough to afford the not-insignificant nightly rates. Postpartum care centers have been popping up in cities throughout the U.S. for a few years now, giving new moms the option of being pampered when they need it the most.

And if you go, can you please just, like, vlog in there? For me? Please? I need this vicarious nurturing.