K-pop music is all the rage, and so are K-beauty, Korean spas, and Korean barbecue, but are you in the know when it comes to Korean post partum centers, a.k.a. "joriwon"?
In the words of an awesome explanatory Romper article (link below), "these hotel-like centers allow new moms to relax, take parenting classes, and get massages. The center provides meals [], snacks, and even overnight care for babies so the visiting new mothers can sleep."
Sadly, there are only a couple of Korean post-partum care centers in the U.S. (whereas there are 300+ in Korea alone!). But fortunately for LA residents, one of these very rare U.S.-based Korean post-partum care centers is located in our very own Koreatown!
Some things to know about the Korean post-partum care center, should you decide to reserve a spot:
- The biggest value item for me: the breast massages. There's a small window of time (usually for a few days) when a mother's breasts might be engorged and her milk hasn't quite come in. The ladies here will give you 2 breast massages a day (yes, 2 a day!) during that period of time to make sure you have no clogged milk ducts and to basically do everything they can to fight mastitis (i.e., infection). Although the breast massages may be painful at times, they aren't mandatory and they are incredibly effective at facilitating milk flow, unclogging milk ducts, and fighting mastitis for purposes of breastfeeding and/or breastmilk pumping.
- The second biggest value item: the food. As long as you enjoy balanced, whole meals and the glory that is Korean cuisine, the food here could not be better. At almost every meal I felt like a king whose personal chef was in charge of serving him one delicious, nourishing meal after the other.
- They are vigilant about tracking each and every diaper change and feeding.
- It's not cheap (my room was approx. $340 per night, and I believe there's a 2 week minimum stay), but if you count all the amenities, the full meals and snacks coverage, the breast massages, the round-the-clock infant care and feeding, the cleaning (including constant cleaning and sterilizing of pump parts), the laundry, and other post-natal-specific services... you may decide it's worth it to shell out a big chunk of money to make sure that the x weeks after your baby is born aren't the worst weeks of your life, but rather, a time where you can focus on recuperating, healing, and restoring your body and mind so that when you get home you can actually enjoy your baby.
- You can choose to sleep through the night the first x weeks after your baby is born. Or you can choose to wake up to feed every time your baby is hungry through the night. Or you can choose to just wake up to pump and have the nannies feed the baby through the night. The point is, you can choose.
- There is definitely a culturally specific ethos at play--basically, Korean post-partum care centers strongly emphasize the mom's health and recovery, and don't always subscribe to Western hospitals' attitudes when it comes to certain things (e.g., pacifiers, formula vs. breastfeeding, timing of bottle introduction, latex glove usage, paced bottle feeding, etc.). I don't necessarily think one way is right or wrong; it's just a matter of preference / thresholds in my opinion. There is an easy way around this; if you have any particular requests when you're at the care center, just let the nannies know and they will make a memo so that the staff can see.
- You can (and should) schedule a tour of the center before reserving a spot.
Some great background articles on Korean post-partum care centers:
https://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2013/04/19/next-korean-wave-post-pregnancy-care-centers/
https://www.romper.com/p/what-do-korean-women-do-after-having-a-baby-post-birth-care-is-special-8132181 read more