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| Korea's maternity hotels are insanely overpriced. / Yonhap |
Exploring Korea's maternity hotels
By Jane Han
Birthing tradition has changed so much in Korea in recent years.
Even until the early 1990s, it was the most common and natural thing for a new mom to head straight home from the hospital after delivering her child. I mean, where else would she go with a newborn, right?
But nowadays, most new moms seem to make a two to three week long stop at one of the country's growing number of postpartum care centers.
I have no first-hand experience with this kind of service since I've only delivered in the U.S., so I took the opportunity to explore why this market is becoming such a big deal.
As if decisions over diapers and bottles aren't enough, I now have yet another tough decision to make since I've finally decided to deliver my third baby in Korea.
I basically have two options: Either check myself into a maternity hotel immediately after getting discharged from hospital and stay there for two weeks or hire a live-in postpartum caregiver who will help take care of me and the newborn in the comfort of my home. Actually, not my home but my parent's home.
If I want uninterrupted recovery and comfort, I should go with a maternity hotel. It's a no-brainer. But the closer I approach my due date, the more I begin to doubt whether I can stay apart from my twin girls for weeks long.
So without a decision in mind, I thought I'd first research what kind of services are out there.
A few phone calls and I immediately realized that the market is insanely overpriced.
The post-delivery care center affiliated with the hospital I'm set to deliver at offers a two-week package priced at 5.5 million won. That's almost 400,000 won a night. That's a five-star hotel.
Why on earth are they charging so much?
I looked over the list of services and it seemed like the 13-night stay is pretty much one super-long all-inclusive spa getaway for mom.
Six gourmet meals and snacks a day, European facials, body massages that promise to shed baby weight, yoga lessons and various classes that help train moms learn how to bathe and feed their newborns.
The reservation coordinator assured me that two weeks will go by in a flash and that it would be an ''unforgettable experience,'' as if delivering a baby alone isn't unforgettable enough.
I called and visited a few other places.
The price range was pretty much similar ― mostly between 4 million won to 6 million won for two weeks ― and services were about the same. Most of them restricted visitors, even immediate family members, with the exception of a short 10 to 15 minute ones once daily only at the designated visiting suite. It almost sounded as if I'd feel like I'm in jail.
And then I finally came across one place, which allowed siblings to visit anytime and even stay overnight and a two-week stay only cost 2 million won. Sounded too good to be true.
The moment I stepped into the facility, I told myself I'd never trust photos I see online.
Pictures I saw on various sites and blogs didn't exactly shout luxury, but the place looked clean, modern and decent for the most part.
Well, reality was completely different.
The laminate floor panel was falling apart, bedding had stains, room furniture looked centuries old and the entire place smelled like a school cafeteria. All of this is what 2 million won for two weeks would get me.
I had to ask myself again, so why am I even considering a postpartum care center the first place?
At that point, I had trouble coming up with even one good reason. I knew I wanted to be with my older two even if it meant I'd be getting little rest and I didn't want to shell out millions of won since that's all good money I can spend on my children.
And so I turned to my second option ― a live-in postpartum caregiver.
It turns out I can easily find someone who can provide 24-hour help for less than 3 million won for one whole month. Sure, there's no luxury spa involved, but my instinct told me I'd be happier at home with my three girls than at a spa.
There is that tiny part of me deep inside that secretly wants a little pampering before I fully dive into my new role as a mom of three. But I'll just have to keep ignoring that little urge.
Less than 40 days left till delivery, now that I have my post-delivery plan finally settled, I'm starting to feel more relaxed and coming to a realization that, yes, another baby really is on its way.
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