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PAMPERING PREGNANT AND NEW MUMS

ARTICLES

PAMPERING PREGNANT AND NEW MUMS

The luxurious Kai Suites is a one-stop pre- and post-partum care retreat.

Kai Suites' rooms (above) are fitted out with queen-and king-size beds as fathers are encouraged to stay over while bassinets are provided for the babies. Confinement meals (left) are planned in consultation with nutritionists and TCM practitioners.

Kai Suites’ rooms are equipped with queen- and king-size beds, encouraging fathers to stay overnight while bassinets are provided for the babies. Confinement meals are carefully planned in consultation with nutritionists and TCM practitioners. Expectant mothers can look forward to being pampered at what is billed as Singapore’s first dedicated postnatal care facility.

Launched last month, Kai Suites opened at an opportune time, as many confinement nannies from Malaysia have been unable to travel here due to border closures. The facility occupies a conserved state property on Dunearn Road near Newton Circus, formerly home to the Singapore Family Planning and Population Board and the Breast Cancer Foundation. The beautifully preserved building now houses 18 modern suites where mothers can stay with their babies after delivery. Amenities include a nursery, a dining room, and lounges for guests to socialize. A spa and aesthetics center will open next month.

The company won the tender from the Singapore Land Authority two years ago and modeled the facility after high-end confinement centers in Taiwan, China, and South Korea. Notable examples include the luxurious Ma Cherie and Xiyue Postpartum Nursing Home in Taipei, where Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou’s wife, model-actress Hannah Quinlivan, reportedly stayed following the birth of their daughter in July 2015.

At Kai Suites, great care is taken to ensure guests are well looked after. A spokesman states that the facility practices the Japanese concept of omotenashi, which focuses on attention to detail. “Kai” in Japanese means restoration and recovery, while in Chinese it signifies triumph.

The 14 deluxe suites and four premium suites resemble five-star hotel rooms in soothing natural tones, featuring an extra call button for nurses. Each suite is furnished with queen- and king-size beds, and fathers are encouraged to stay overnight, with bassinets available for the babies. Full-size refrigerators are provided to store food for fathers and milk for infants.

Thoughtful touches include wooden tubs and stools in the attached bathrooms for herbal baths. Nurses are available to feed the babies, including with stored breast milk, if the mothers choose to sleep through the night.

ELSEWHERE IN ASIA

Taiwan
There are hundreds of post-partum centers in Taiwan, including the upscale Ma Cherie and Xiyue Postpartum Nursing Home, founded in 1995. They now operate six facilities in Taipei and one in Hsinchu, providing care for mothers and babies, including confinement meals. While the center’s website does not list prices, it reportedly costs about NT$12,000 (S$570) a night with three meals.

China
According to the Legal Daily newspaper, there are more than 4,000 post-partum centers in China, up from just dozens 20 years ago. In major cities like Shanghai, a month’s stay in a center resembling a five-star hotel can cost up to 70,000 yuan (S$14,300).

South Korea
Postnatal centers are so common in South Korea that a 2017 report in the Korea Biomedical Review estimates that six out of every ten mothers use them. The more luxurious centers offer massages, spas, and even cosmetic surgery. A suite in the upscale Gangnam area in Seoul can cost about 10 million won (S$12,300) for two weeks.

At Kai Suites, each cot in the nursery is fitted with a camera, allowing mothers to monitor their babies via smartphone. The nursery is staffed by experienced nurses in pre- and postnatal care who also conduct workshops on topics such as baby handling and breastfeeding.

An important aspect of confinement care, especially for Chinese Singaporeans, is the diet for new mothers. It’s no surprise that Kai Suites pays close attention to this aspect. The facility engaged food consultant David Yip to work with a team of four young, Western-trained chefs to create a special menu for residents.

Yip says they have developed over 500 recipes inspired by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean dishes, prepared using Western techniques. Renowned chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants, such as Han Li Guang of Restaurant Labyrinth and Tomoo Kimura of Sushi Kimura, have also contributed recipes.

Hardly any dish is repeated during the six daily meals of a guest’s stay. Those craving specific dishes can make requests, and there’s an à la carte menu featuring popular options like braised pork trotter and egg in black sweet vinegar.

Meals are planned in consultation with nutritionists and TCM practitioners to cater to mothers’ needs post-delivery. The first week’s meals are lighter and primarily steamed, while those for the fourth week can include fried dishes. For example, a main course for the first week might be steamed chicken, lightly grilled and glazed with tomato consommé.

Yip emphasizes, “The challenge is making everything in-house instead of relying on commercial sauces. We create our own oyster sauce and syrups to replace refined sugar.” The kitchen uses hormone- and antibiotic-free Anxin chicken and avoids plastic containers and aluminum cookware.

All this luxury comes at a price. The facility offers an introductory rate of S$25,000 for a 28-day stay in a deluxe suite, which includes meals for the mother but not for the father. There is also a 14-day stay option followed by 14 days of nursing care at home for S$20,800, which includes delivered meals for the mother. For those interested in meals only, there’s a 28-day program with two home-delivered meals daily for S$3,500.

Additional amenities include a spa opening next month, offering treatments like massages and wraps, while the aesthetics center is equipped for body contouring and skin tightening.

On whether the prices will deter potential guests, the spokesman states: “What you pay is equivalent to an expensive holiday, but it’s an experience that only happens a few times in your life.”

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