China boosts maternity matron, nanny standards to support childbirth

China has unveiled two newly revised national standards aimed at improving the quality of services provided by maternity matrons and nannies, in a bid to support childbirth amid shifting demographics.

The standards, which will take effect on March 1, 2025, will better regulate domestic maternal and baby nursing services, as well as home-based care services for children from birth to 3 years old, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Maternity matrons, known as "yuesao" in Chinese, provide postpartum care to mothers and newborns during the first month or longer after childbirth. Nannies who take care of young children are known as "yu'ersao" in Chinese. Both groups are being increasingly sought after by Chinese parents who want a better quality of life.

The new standard for maternity matrons introduces or specifies the requirements for the training, procedures and quality of such services, better meeting consumers' growing demand for more professional, secure and individualized services, and provides the basis for effective oversight, said Zhang Boyu, an expert on domestic service standards who participated in drafting it.

The standard for nanny services includes recommendations for taking care of children's emotional and psychological needs, apart from their basic life needs, and offers guidelines for early education, according to experts who helped formulate the standard. 

This move comes as part of China's comprehensive efforts to enhance childbirth support and address the challenges of a rapidly aging population. A directive from the State Council in October outlined 13 targeted measures to enhance childbirth support services, expand child care systems, strengthen support in education, housing and employment, and foster a birth-friendly social atmosphere.

The country has gradually relaxed its family planning policies over the past decade, phasing out the decades-long one-child policy. In 2021, it announced support for couples who wish to have a third child.

Local governments across China have since put in place a series of stimulus measures for childbirth, including subsidies, expanded insurance coverage, extended maternity leave and more public child care facilities.