The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on Thursday that it will strengthen the safety management of postpartum centers across the country, to improve their sanitation and prevent possible infection from spreading in the facilities.

Postpartum care centers or clinics are non-medical businesses that offer full-time services to new mothers for a week or more to help them recuperate after giving birth. The number of these clinics has surged rapidly in recent years, despite prices for the services ranging from 1 million to 10 million won.

The ministry plans to obligate employees at the clinics to have additional medical checkups such as antibody tests for hepatitis B, rubella and chicken pox. The existing rules request physical tests for employees to check whether they carry the viruses that cause typhoid, tuberculosis and skin infections. The business owners will have to attend regular sessions on how to improve safety in their facilities.

To help with customer disputes in cases where parents or children were exposed to infection or other accidents in the clinic, the government plans to draft standardized policy terms and rules.

The ministry also plans to promote a nationwide campaign to provide better understanding of postpartum care centers and seek public consensus on having multiple newborns, who are vulnerable to infection, together in one place.

“Postpartum clinics are places where strict rules should be applied because they have newborn babies in the same room, leaving them exposed to possible infection,” an official said.

“(The government) will step up efforts to improve awareness of postpartum centers where mothers are prioritized (before babies),” he added.

Postpartum centers have gained popularity in recent years as they offer hotel-like services to new mothers and help them learn child care skills, such as breastfeeding and overall baby care. Mothers and babies are separated, except for when they breastfeed. Some centers offer body massages and other programs to help them lose weight and recover after giving birth.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)