A growing number of well-to-do new mothers are ponying up around $1,600 a night to stay at luxury postnatal centers that offer up perks such as a personal team of therapists and doulas, lactation coaches, CPR training for babies, round-the-clock breastfeeding support, pelvic floor therapy and hospital-grade bassinets.
Esther Park, the founder and CEO of Ahma & Co., told Bloomberg News that she has a waiting list of 4,000 people who are ready to pay up to $1,650 a night for a stay at the 175-acre Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club in scenic Dana Point, Calif.
For a minimum of a three-night stay, postpartum mothers can expect amenities such as a 535 square-foot room with a private balcony, foot and sitz baths, on-site photo shoots and a 24-hour “baby lounge” equipped with monitors.
Ahma has raised money from investors who have committed an aggregate of six figures, according to Bloomberg News.
Park said that privately run postnatal resorts are filling the void left by inadequate care for new mothers who are expected to know how to handle a baby after giving birth.
“In the US, there is a significant problem in the way that we treat mothers,” Park told Bloomberg News. “That also stems from not just the way that our health system is currently arranged, but also the way our community is arranged.”
Boram, which is based in Manhattan, bills itself as a “calm, comfortable, secure space” for new mothers, charging $1,050 per night for services that include pre-birth support, a recovery lounge, tips on developing a “lactation foundation,” and three prepared meals delivered to a room that offers views of the city.
Boram Nam, the co-founder of Boram, told Bloomberg News that her center was averaging eight booking per night in March — a 48% increase from the same period last year.
Nam said she was motivated to start her business after her own experience following the cesarean section birth of her second child, the recovery from which was difficult.
She predicted that postnatal centers, which are currently out of reach of most Americans due to the high price point, will be more affordable in years to come as new players enter the market.
Nam compared the phenomenon to the trajectory of fertility treatments — which were once available only to wealthy people but are now included in company-sponsored health plans.
“It took about 10 years and change to get there,” Nam told Bloomberg News.
“To start from out of pocket, very expensive, not a lot of support or understanding or awareness, to companies coming in, states stepping in from the government side,” she said, adding: “That’s the path I think we’re on.”
The popularity of postnatal centers has prompted firms such as private equity giant KKR and EasyKnock Inc to offer discounted and fully-subsidized stays at Boram as an employee perk.
“It’s such a big thing to know you’re not alone and to have that support,” Ayra Redondiez, who paid $6,300 for a six-night stay at San Francisco-based Village Postnatal Retreat Center after her son was born five weeks premature, told Bloomberg News.
“For me, that was priceless.”
Redondiez said that she was able to check back in to the center after experiencing postnatal complications that required another hospitalization.
The surging demand in postnatal care is reflected in the explosive growth in the doula and birth coaching industry, which is expected to generate $25.7 billion in global revenue within the next decade — an increase of 79% compared to last year.
The concept of postnatal retreats, which may be new to Americans, has been around for years in Asian countries.
Eight out of 10 South Korean mothers check in to a joriwon after giving birth.
The local government, which is seeking to combat declining birthrates, has even offered stipends to cover some of the costs as a way to encourage women, who are treated to massages, facials and child care classes, to have more children.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
