Salary soars for experienced maternity nurses

Maternity nurses, or yuesao as they are called here, whose job is to take care of mothers and newborn babies during the first month or two of birth, have been making headlines in the Chinese Year of the Dragon.

Since the year is deemed to be auspicious for those born during it, the number of childbirths is expected to reach 200,000 in Beijing. The price of a yuesao, which has averaged 5,000 yuan ($793) to 6,000 yuan over the past few years, has therefore skyrocketed, with some demanding as much as 15,000 yuan in cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

　　Whopping prices

Over at the Beijing Xinxin Beibei Inquiry Service, run by the Chaoyang Maternal and Child Health Hospital, an experienced nurse of seven years is priced at 9,800 yuan.

Meanwhile, the Beijing-based company Xin Yue International provides maternity services from 3,800 yuan for a yuesao with one year's experience to 15,800 yuan for a very experienced nurse entitled Imperial Crown Yuesao.

"We classify our staff according to their work experience, feedback from our clients and professional skills," said a consultant surnamed Wu with Xin Yue International.

The seven Imperial Crown staff the company currently employs all have at least nine years of experience, with professional certificates and experience in attending premature babies, twin babies and high risk mothers. Compared with other maternity nurses, they have more medical and caretaking knowledge, they are more observant in detecting sickness in babies and have better communication skills that can help new mothers with psychological problems.

"Our clients vary. Some are just average working couples who are concerned about the mother and baby, so they don't mind hiring a yuesao for that price," added Xia from the Xinxin Beibei company.

"Demand is big this year and I have been booked to the end," said 48-year-old Chen Yuetai, an experienced yuesao of seven years. She started working with household service agencies back in 2005 and was paid about 1,000 yuan then. Now she gets jobs from recommendations from her previous employers for about 7,000 to 8,000 yuan.

Besides the baby boom, other factors have been pushing up the price. "With increasing living standards and health awareness, physical and psychological health has received more attention. Therefore yuesao are becoming more popular," said Mu Lijie, Vice President of the Beijing Homemaking Service Association.

As a result of this trend, maternity nurses are expected to offer overall health advice on top of the normal postnatal care, Mu told us.

　　Justified expense

For Chen the price is justified given the current requirements of the job. Usually during the first 15 days yuesao will get little rest. During the day they take care of both mother and child, cooking meals, washing clothes and tidying up the house. At night, some sleep next to the child and need to get up whenever the baby wakes.

Zhang, who looked after a child born with cerebral palsy and myasthenia in August last year, almost got no sleep during the 40 day job. "I was required by the mother to massage the baby for 24 hours a day. When she was asleep I was asked to take her to a nearby park so that the baby could get more fresh air."

Certainly young mother surnamed Zhu from Xingtai, Hebei Province, who just had twin boys last month, was happy with her Imperial Crown yuesao. Zhu got to know about the company from the Internet and decided on the nurse upon a recommendation from the Xin Yue company. "The yuesao is really nice to them and knows everything there is to know about taking care of babies. "

　　Not all winners

In this more competitive market, yuesao without much experience or the "wrong credentials" are losing out. The majority of parents-to-be, born after the 1980s as the only child in their family, are becoming pickier and prefer a caretaker with comprehensive knowledge. Some will book far in advance to secure the best nurse.

One yuesao that we spoke to, Zhang Lili, is still lamenting over her failure to secure a position during one interview last year for a 10,000 yuan job.

"The couple both had a doctorate degree from Tsinghua University and the husband asked me what the average indoor temperature in August should be," recalled Zhang, who has been a yuesao for two years. "I stumbled and said '22-24 degrees,' but the correct answer should be 24-26 degrees."

Zhang explained that some are very concerned about appearance and don't want those from the countryside, while others prefer a yuesao who is less than 50 years old, since they believe communication will be easier.

To meet their specific requirements, the agency will just raise the price since there is no standard charge for the job yet, she added.

In addition, even though the industry has been booming for a long time, it has not been officially recognized as an individual profession by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

To get a profession recognized it requires at least 5,000 people working in the industry, a steady work force and core vocational skills. Maternity nurses are still small in number in Beijing. At the same time, most yuesao partner with a household service agency and have no official labor contracts. They move around a lot and many are self-employed.

"The job of yuesao is not a specialty and it is impossible for it to become an individual profession," commented Li Dajing, president of the Beijing Home Service Association. This also partly explains why the market is not regulated and why prices will no doubt continue to soar both this year and in ones to come.