Dice an African proverb: It takes a village to raise a child. Or, for a lucky few, a luxury hotel. This is the title of the article New York Times which, in June 2022, announced the opening in New York of Boram Postnatal Retreat, up to $1400 per night. On the ninth floor of the Langham Hotel, a five-star hotel in the heart of the site, it was designed by the entrepreneur Boram Nam and is inspired by the Asian tradition of maternal “retreat” after giving birth. The name “Boram” means “something fruitful after hard work” in Korean.
From Asia to the USA, the success of luxury hotels for new mothers
Once upon a time, in Asia, when a woman gave birth she might not leave the house for several weeks or even months. The tradition of postpartum rest It has ancient roots especially in mainland China. But not only.坐月子(zuò yuèzi) literally means “confinement”: but the expression today also refers to the postnatal care centers that have sprung up in recent years throughout East Asia.
They call them “maternity hotels” and offer rest, recovery and support to women during the crucial period immediately following childbirth. And also the advantage of bringing together in one place all the operators who can help a woman after giving birth: psychologists, obstetricians, paediatricians. This type of center began to appear already in the 1990s, initially the prerogative only of rich people (like it Xiyue ge of Beijing). Today, thanks to greater economic accessibility and the growth of the Chinese middle class, many more mothers can access these services.
In South Korea called sanhujori, they cost from 2,000 to 5,000 dollars for two weeks. Much but decidedly less than the American version.
Against postpartum depression
The sector is booming. An interesting fact, if we consider the demographic issue that also affects the Asian country. The Chinese government is increasingly busy trying to reverse the decline in births, in a nosedive for six consecutive years. With a surge in the number of centers from 550 in 2013 to 4,800 in 2020, the so-called postpartum recovery market will be worth 14.48 billion yuan (2.2 billion dollars) by the end of 2023.
After labor, many new mothers traditionally focus exclusively on their babies and neglect their own health problems. While pelvic floor and breast problems are very frequent. “Generations after 1980 and 1990 tend to pursue more scientific and systematic postpartum rehabilitation, contributing to the growth of the sector,” explained Li Chengping, an analyst at the Chinese health site VCBeat.
Postnatal recovery centers are also increasingly widespread in Japan, to prevent postpartum depression. But also in South Korea and Taiwan. (Remember that Japan and South Korea have among the lowest fertility and birth rates in the world.) In the sanhujoriwon South Koreans, mothers receive services similar to those of a high-end hotel, from massages to relax to meals calibrated based on specific nutritional needs. Cost for a two week stay? Something like 3 million won, around 2250 euros. In one of the medium-high level centers in Taipei you spend just under 4000 euros for a good sized room, nice view and 4 meals a day for mothers.
Asian tradition in a New York version
The Asian tradition has crossed the ocean and luxury hotels are starting to appear in the USA to support new mothers between discharge from hospital and their return home. As the Boram Postnatal Retreat, precisely. But there is also the Village Postnatal Retreat Center inside the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. And it will open soon in New York L’Ahma & Co. (you can already put yourself on the waiting list).
“We offer stays of 3, 5 and 7+ nights for families,” explained the creator of Boram. «Including 16 luxury bedrooms, a baby room, a community-created mothers room and a space for postnatal food and drinks with broth, traditional Korean seaweed soup and a wide variety of healing teas. We provide baby care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With nurses and doulas. The staff assists the child in monitoring vital signs, feeding, changing diapers, bathing and sleeping. The offer is completed by services for mothers, such as postnatal massages, breastfeeding assistance, seated baths and foot baths. An experience that aims to be “the famous village” that is difficult to find in today’s world.”
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