TOKYO - Postpartum care services in hotels are gaining momentum in Japan, with mothers receiving support from midwives and childcare workers for physical and mental recovery while they stay with their babies.
Behind the growing demand for such services is the increasing number of nuclear families. As more women live apart from their parents, it is becoming more difficult to count on parental support after childbirth.
Postpartum care services, currently available in around 20 hotels, are aimed at addressing the social isolation often experienced by mothers in the months after giving birth.
Some hotels are offering all of their rooms for mothers with newborns, while others are allocating some of their rooms.
Villa Mom, which opened in the Ariake waterfront area of Tokyo in June, provides round-the-clock care and counseling services from midwives and childcare workers for mothers and their babies.
Mothers can stay with their babies and rest while staff take care of the children. Older children and husbands can also stay there.
While low beds and sofas are available to help mothers breastfeed and hold babies more easily, the hotel also has different seating options so mothers can relax in the dining room.
"When mothers come (to our hotel), they look as if they are under heavy pressure. But when they check out, they leave with their natural smiles regained," said Riho Kusanagi of the hotel operator, Smile Project Inc.
"I felt reassured because I was able to talk to midwives easily," said a woman in her 30s who gave birth to a boy in the summer and stayed at the hotel.
Last year, hotel-based postpartum care service providers came together to establish the Japan Postpartum Care Hotel Association.
"Fewer people can provide postpartum care because we see more cases where mothers of pregnant women haven't retired and still work or need to take care of their elderly parents," Mutsumi Ogino, representative director of the association, said.
The association aims to promote cooperation within the industry to improve service quality and raise public awareness of their services. It held its first study session in October, focusing on safe sleep for babies.
"Demand (for postpartum care services) is growing as spending per child is increasing, reflecting the declining birthrate," Ogino said.
Regular hotel operators are also turning to the postpartum care business, offering some of their hotel rooms for such services.
Fairfield by Marriott Fukuoka Ukiha in Fukuoka Prefecture began its service in October in cooperation with Josan-she's Inc., a Tokyo-based postpartum care service provider.
"We want to provide a relaxing and comfortable environment for mothers after childbirth and their families and enhance local child-rearing support," a hotel spokesperson said.
