American mom spent $5,000 to stay in Taiwan's postpartum care centers: 'Every woman deserves this type of experience'

Katie Lee says what she describes arsenic a "traumatic" acquisition giving commencement successful the U.S. made her question if she wanted a 2nd child. A move overseas to Taiwan helped her reconsider.

Lee, 34, moved to from Columbus, Ohio to Taipei, Taiwan successful July 2024 with her husband, Jason, and 5-year-old son, Forrest. The mates saved up for a 13-month vocation interruption successful clip for their son's kindergarten twelvemonth truthful they could walk much clip with his paternal grandparents overseas.

Lee says preparing for their year-long sabbatical made her revisit plans for a 2nd baby. Enough clip had passed for her to heal from the postpartum anxiousness and slump she experienced with her archetypal pregnancy, she tells CNBC Make It.

Plus, determination were a batch of aspects to the Taiwan health-care strategy that made her consciousness much comfortable.

Lee secured her spousal visa, which granted her residency status, astir 3 months anterior to leaving for Taiwan; she got entree to Taiwan's nationalist wellness security aft six months of surviving there. "Everything was aligning, and it made maine consciousness much excited astir process," Lee says.

Here's however her 2nd gestation successful Taiwan compared to her archetypal successful the U.S.

Back successful the U.S., Lee recalls astir OB-GYN appointments coming retired to astir $150 to $200 per visit, adjacent with insurance. "We didn't person bully security astatine the time," she says.

That adds up erstwhile you're scheduling appointments for each period until the 3rd trimester erstwhile they get to the constituent of becoming weekly.

Giving commencement to Forrest progressive paying "a boatload of money," Lee says: Between the commencement and infirmary stay, Forrest's 23 hours successful the NICU and follow-up appointments, the Lees maxed retired their precocious deductible security plan's out-of-pocket maximum of $10,000.

In Taiwan, meanwhile, the household paid a batch little for a overmuch much accommodating experience.

Lee gave commencement to her daughter, Ruby, successful July. OB-GYN appointments were nether $30 USD anterior to obtaining nationalist wellness insurance. After securing benefits, checkups dropped to betwixt $6 and $16.

Lee gave commencement astatine a backstage birthing session for nether $2,000, wherever she spent 2 days and 3 nights successful a backstage country with nutritionist-provided meals included. Lee estimates staying astatine a nationalist infirmary successful Taiwan could outgo arsenic debased arsenic a fewer 100 dollars.

Then, Lee spent 10 days astatine a postpartum attraction facility astatine a complaint of $300 a day. The cost covers 24/7 babe care, each meals prepared by a postpartum nutritionist, Chinese medicine treatments and mom-focused accommodations similar escaped massages, hairsbreadth washes and yoga sessions.

"It fundamentally felt similar being astatine a luxury edifice with the babe attraction and nutrient transportation programs," Lee says.

Knowing she'd person enactment successful the days instantly pursuing childbirth made a immense difference, she says.

"Because I had a atrocious archetypal experience, I felt a batch much unafraid knowing that astatine slightest the archetypal 10 days I would person round-the-clock attraction astatine an affordable price, meals would beryllium taken attraction of and everything would beryllium thought out," Lee says.

Taiwan's postpartum clinics person been astir for immoderate 30 years, making it 1 of the world's oldest and astir formalized postpartum industries; akin facilities are fashionable crossed different parts of Eastern Asia.

Lee's 10 days astatine a postpartum installation is overmuch shorter than what's emblematic successful Taiwan. New moms typically walk person to 30 days successful these centers, which corresponds with the past Chinese signifier of a "sitting month" intended to assistance women retrieve from childbirth.

Postpartum clinics are a booming business: The fig of facilities grew four-fold from 2006 to 2016 with 193 registered locations, according to reporting from Quartz. Over 50% of caller mothers visited a postpartum session successful Taiwan successful 2014, according to authorities figures, and spent an mean of $4,000 (close to $5,500 successful today's dollars) for their stay.

"Typically radical are redeeming up for a agelong time," Lee says.

Even for a shorter stay, "I consciousness super, ace grateful," she says. "I conscionable can't assistance but deliberation that each pistillate deserves this benignant of experience, thing that feels accessible and affordable. It shouldn't beryllium specified a financial, carnal oregon affectional burden."

"The information that each this was accessible to maine arsenic a foreigner was conscionable mind-blowing," she adds, "and a small spot bittersweet that there's truthful small offered successful the States."

Lee says determination are inactive challenges successful adjusting to being a caller ma again. She continues to conflict with postpartum anxiousness but says it's not arsenic hard arsenic the archetypal clip around. Studies show providing attraction to mothers aft childbirth tin alteration the incidence and severity of postpartum depression.

Bringing location a babe feels similar much of a communal household acquisition successful Taiwan, Lee adds.

"Grandma is astatine our spot each evening helping instrumentality attraction of the baby," she says. "[My husband's] dada is driving america places. His sister is besides spending weekends with us. They conscionable benignant of each assume, 'Baby is here. Of people we would beryllium determination help.'"

"It's conscionable truthful helpful, due to the fact that successful the States aft you permission the hospital, it conscionable feels similar you're connected your own," unless you person household nearby, Lee says.

Another large quality has been successful however overmuch Taiwanese parenting doesn't trust connected keeping the babe to a feeding oregon nap schedule.

"In the States, it's similar radical privation to modulate the babe for their convenience, similar provender them connected a docket of each 2 and a fractional hours to 3 hours, truthful that you tin get them into a regular [and have] nap times," Lee says. "Since I americium an anxious person, getting babe connected a schedule, a astir intolerable happening to bash already, doesn't needfully marque a batch of consciousness [for me]."

Meanwhile, arsenic acold arsenic her acquisition successful Taiwan, "Baby scheduling is conscionable not however they bash it here," Lee says, "and I truly admit that."

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