Confinement Nanny or Domestic Helper: Which one is best for you?

Are you a new mommy who is having a hard time managing things post-birth? Are you looking to hire a maid or nanny for additional help? Well, you have come to the right place! This article has all the information you need to decide whether to hire a confinement nanny or a domestic helper.

First and foremost, you need to know the difference between the two. Who is a confinement nanny? What does she specialize in? How is she different from a maid? Are they both the same? These questions must be running through your mind.

To answer your question, a confinement nanny is a woman often hired to help new mothers with post-pregnancy shenanigans. The nannies are responsible for taking care of both the mother and newborn.

On the other hand, domestic helpers are mostly hired for cleaning, cooking, childcare, elderly care, etc. Maids, in short, can be assigned various tasks and are long-term based.

Confinement nannies are short-term as their contract only lasts from a minimum of 2 weeks to a maximum of 16 weeks. In short, they are special helpers hired for only one task.

Now, you have a basic idea of the two. Below are further details on how the two differ, the costs related to each, and more.

Who are Confinement Nannies?

A long-coming tradition of Chinese culture, confinement nannies are experienced mothers. They are hired to ensure proper recovery of the mother post-birth.

After giving birth, a woman requires some time to recover. She is entitled to stay indoors for an average of 2 to 3 months. This recovery time is often referred to as confinement.

During the confinement period, a confinement nanny can be hired. Technically, confinement nannies are only allowed to be hired after a woman has given birth. The nanny is then given the responsibility of taking care of both the mother and the child.

Why hire a confinement nanny during confinement?

You must be wondering, why hire a confinement nanny for such a short time? It is given that the contract will be extended to 16 weeks, but confinement nannies are professionally trained to deal with post-birth matters.

The confinement period is to provide the following:

• Rest for both the mother and newborn
• Allowing the mother to give her entire time to the baby
• Recovery of the mother’s organs.

A confinement nanny is there to support the mother during this phase. She eases up the load on the mother by helping in caring for the newborn. Her other duties include:

• Ensuring the mother follows the rule of confinement
• Providing emotional support to the mother
• Make sure the mother follows a nutritious diet
• Taking care of the baby when the mother is unable to
• Doing house chores
• Creating a routine for baby

In short, a confinement nanny’s main job is to ensure the confinement period ends smoothly without any issue.

Costs of a Confinement Nanny

A confinement nanny can be hired at varying costs, and the tasks assigned to her decide her pay. The cost of a part-time confinement nanny will depend entirely on the number of hours she works. Other than that, hiring a full-time confinement nanny can cost a hefty sum of HK$25,000 to HK$35,000 per month. Most of the time, you will use an agency to hire 24-hour confinement nannies. Therefore, you are also entitled to pay an additional ‘agency fee’.

Conclusively, confinement nannies have a high hiring cost, but given the nature of their job and the nanny's experience, the price is justified.

Who are Domestic Helpers?

A domestic helper is often hired to take care of long-term tasks such as housework or cooking; some are hired to care for children or babies. Compared to confinement nannies, domestic helpers can be hired whenever they want. 

if you are opting for a foreign domestic helper, you must follow a standard contract that is renewed every 2 years. They are paid monthly or according to the contract details they sign with you.

Well-trained maids provide help similar to that of confinement nannies. The only difference between the two is that the services provided by the confinement nannies are more specialized since they are trained to provide post-birth care.

A maid may substitute a confinement nanny, but you must be clear on the factor that a maid will not have the training or experience that the nanny has. Taking care of a newborn is quite difficult, and an experienced nanny can provide new mothers with the support and help they need to settle into their new routine. Nevertheless, many domestic helpers have strong experience caring for babies.

Costs of Domestic Helper

A domestic helper is often hired through agencies or directly through online platform for domestic helpers. Salary can range from $5,000 to $10,000 per month, based on the experience. 

Other costs depend on the services they have been hired for. An additional fee of $3,000 to $12,000 must be paid to the agency for the worker’s documents. The documents include paperwork, medical examinations, travel fare, etc. In the end, the total cost rounds up to a substantial amount, but this amount is still quite less than the one required to hire a confinement nanny. Nevertheless, hiring a helper without using an agency and saving these fees by doing the process yourself is possible.

Conclusion

Now you know the primary reasons to hire a confinement nanny or a domestic helper. Based on your requirements, you can choose the best fit for you. If it is caring for a newborn, then a confinement nanny is the one for the job. If you require other menial tasks, then hiring a domestic helper is best. With this insight, your decision is guaranteed to be good and efficient. Good luck!