Postnatal Care in Korea

So Korea is renowned for its postnatal care centers. It's been reported that celebrities from other countries visit Korea after they give birth to recuperate at one of these facilities. Typically, after a woman gives birth, she spends three days in the hospital and then moves to one of these centers for two weeks. It is called 산후조리원 (san-hoo-joh-ree-one) in Korean and they are staffed with a number of nurses who are professionally trained to take care of both the mother and the baby. Having grown up in the U.S. where these centers are pretty much non-existent (or to my knowledge), I thought 'what could they possibly offer that I couldn't really do myself?' 'My few friends who had already given birth all took care of themselves in their own homes so why not me?' I thought Korean women were just overly sensitive after birth and these money-making facilities didn't live up to their value. However, when I talked to my cousins and read review after review on the centers, I opened myself to the idea of it and started a consultation tour around several postnatal centers near by home.

Simply put, postnatal centers are residences for new mothers where they are served with nutritionally rich food and a program of exercise and activity for recovery. The exercise may include postnatal yoga or pilates, and the activities may include making mobiles, breastfeeding instructions, newborn instructions, full body massages, etc. The newborn is taken into a separate facility inside the center where nurses watch and care for them 24/7. The facility is blocked by glass windows for sanitation purposes. If you decide to breastfeed, they either bring the baby to your room or you go to the baby yourself to feed every 2-3 hours. All the centers I visited said that they massage your  boobs as much as you desire so that you can avoid soreness or 뭉침, which I heard is a killer because it may result in 가슴몸살. The husbands may stay with their wives in the centers, and the food may or may not be provided to them depending on the center. Typically visitors are only allowed in the visiting room. Some don't even allow visitors because they believe that the new mothers need their full rest. (Visitors are most often in-laws hence the limit haha) All the centers provide both the maternity and newborn photoshoots. I think this sums up the general info on 산후조리원 :) Oh and you should reserve a spot as early as you can, but I did it just 3 months before my due date and faced no problem!

I believe I visited seven in total and got consultations. Yes, I had a lot of time after I got back from the US and I really needed a visit a handful to fully understand what to look for in a postnatal center. Here's my short review on them for all the new foreigner moms in Korea ^^

1. Naissance (서래 네송스):
PRO: facility is quiet and clean with good amenities. Gave us a good discount.
CON: the person I had a consultation with was a bit rude compared to others. They divide the place into levels, and the atmosphere was just cold, vacant, and withdrawn.

2. LaTerra (라테라 송파)
PRO: Just like a hotel. New, clean, and modern. Loved this facility
CON: This place is very new so not sure if they know what they're doing. I just couldn't see many reviews on Naver. And very pricey.

3. Hosan (호산 압구정)
PRO: Steps away from my hospital.
CON: not enough program. For example, massage was once or twice for the entire two weeks. Not so inviting.

4. Angelet (앙즐레 역삼)
PRO: price
CON: no programs offered during pregnancy. Food is not served inside the room. I'd much rather eat in the comforts of my own room. The location also was in a very busy building. I liked this one the least.

5. Amorium (아모리움 서초)
PRO: Their program was the best. Yoga classes offered both before and after birth. Newborn instructions, breastfeeding instructions, massages both before and after birth. Food delivered to the room. Husband's food provided at every meal (the only center that offered this). They bathe the baby inside the room everyday so that couple can learn. An awesome experience in my opinion :) The staff looks very warm and inviting.
CON: No individual 좌욕기 or something which is not a problem for me.

Anyway, we decided to go with Amorium, because of their program and first impression. We were also able to negotiate and bring the price down to what we were willing to pay. Very happy with our decision and I even already took the maternity photos at the partner studio just yesterday. Though my cheeks are about to explode like those of a chipmunk, I'm satisfied. They were free anyway.. yay!

Daily Schedule

Now that the big events have passed I.e. baby shower, birthday, and the maternity photo shoot, I'm ready to have a steady schedule for the rest of the pregnancy. This way I can keep track of my health plus responsibilities, and it may serve as a constant reminder.

So everyday I shall:

-walk for 2-4 hours. This can be done through shopping and walking to and from yoga.

- 4 days out of the week: prenatal yoga for one hour (mon/tue/thu/sat)

- at least 3 hours of art daily

- start my online class and get A's

Pretty simple but not when your sleeping schedule is messed up. I'm sure it'll come around.