SINGAPORE - Mothers of newborns who do not want to shell out thousands of dollars to hire confinement nannies will soon have a more affordable option: their maids.
But first, the foreign domestic workers will need to be trained for the task, and that is where traditional Chinese medicine practitioner Fu Yang Tang comes in.
The company - which also owns Homekeeper, one of the largest maid agencies here - has teamed up with two training providers to run a series of confinement nanny courses for maids starting next month.
New mothers here usually turn to confinement nannies because they have little, if any, experience taking care of babies.
These nannies are usually older and more experienced women hired to cook a special diet for the mother and to look after the baby.
Reliable confinement nannies, however, also come with long waiting lists and some command top dollar for their services.
Fu Yang Tang will work with the Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training (Fast) and Grace Management and Consultancy Services (GMCS) to run the courses.
They will cover topics such as preparing food with traditional Chinese medicine for new mothers, infant care and how to massage mothers and babies.
Employers will have to pay about $80 for their maids to attend each course, which will be conducted over a few half-day sessions.
Parents and maids can also attend a half-day seminar on Aug 17, organised by Fu Yang Tang, Fast and GMCS, to learn how maids can be trained to do confinement work.
Ms Carene Chin, the managing director of Fu Yang Tang and Homekeeper, said more Singaporean parents want to hire confinement nannies because their mothers work and cannot help them.
But some are put off by the hefty cost of hiring a nanny. Others have been turned down by popular nannies who tend to be booked up to a year in advance.
It now costs an average of $2,200 to $2,400 to hire a confinement nanny for a month compared to about $2,000 a year ago. Some are also charging up to $3,500.
Ms Josephine Tan, who owns confinementnanny.com and has been recruiting nannies for the last five years, explained that a shortage of confinement nannies, many of whom are Malaysians, has also driven up hiring cost.
Many Malaysian nannies are opting to stay at home to work because they can draw monthly salaries of about $2,000 and be close to their families.
Maids in Singapore, who are paid an average of $500 a month, are relatively more affordable. They also do basic household chores.
Confinement nannies do not help with housework.
Some parents told The Sunday Times that shelling out top dollar for confinement nannies does not always guarantee good service.
Administrative assistant Annie Liong, 40, a mother of two toddlers, said: "Some mothers may object to the way the nanny bathes the baby for example. But the nanny may say 'I know better, I am more experienced.'"
Still, many parents have doubts that foreign maids can do the job of these nannies, a mindset Ms Chin hopes to change.
She added that employers can attend the courses with their maids by paying a fee of about $150 for each course. This would help them understand what has been taught and also share their preferences with their maids.
However, some parents said they still prefer a confinement nanny over a maid.
Engineer Bertschin Tan, 33, whose wife is expecting their fourth child in October, said: "Maids may not be careful enough or have the experience needed for confinement work."
[email protected]
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
