Monday, 1 September 2014

Sanhujuriwon 산후조리원: Traditional Postpartum Facilities in Korea

Updated 21 August 2017

Many Korean women go to special care facilities for a week or two after giving birth. Some hospitals and birthing centers have sanhujuriwons, so ask yours if they offer this services.

These facilities usually require you to sign up for the waiting list several weeks in advance; you can't just show up with your baby and enter the clinic. Many also require the newborn to be admitted into the postnatal clinic straight from the hospital so they can confirm that the baby is healthy. They also require the baby's vaccine records. If you are not getting your child vaccines or wish to delay vaccines, make sure you find out how to go about this. There is usually a way. If you have a cold you will probably not be allowed to stay at the clinic. If the baby has a cold, diarrhea, fever, etc at the time of admittance the clinic will not admit you nor baby to protect the other newborns.

Not all women like these places. Sometimes babies and moms are kept separate for the majority of the day. Family may only be able visit during set hours each day. Usually the father can visit whenever, but ask since rules vary. Rooms are often kept very warm. Moms are fed seaweed soup and given vigorous breast and body massages because they believe this will help with milk production and help get their bodies back into shape. Rooms are often kept super, super warm. Sometimes they have a small gift pack for the mom and baby as well. THe best thing to do is ask what your facility does. Other women love these places and say that they really helped them after giving birth.

Costs vary from about 2-5 mil won for 2 weeks. There are tons and tons of places to choose from. Here are just a few places. You can also put 산후조리원 in a Naver Map or Daum Map search and see what comes up near you. If you're interested definitely ask around for recommendations. Below you can find a few facilities, remember, there are many, many more out there.

Seoul
Gyeonggi-do

Busan 

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Friday, 1 August 2014

Happy Breastfeeding Month!

Updated 6 September 2017

The United States Breastfeeding Committee started National Breastfeeding Month on August 6, 2011. Countries all over the world celebrate WBW (World Breastfeeding Week). Whether you celebrate it for a week or a month, there are lots of activities you can participate in. There are events worldwide, such as the Big Latch On and Latch on America: A Cross Country Tour. Korea's no exception; La League League Seoul also participated in the Latch On.

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding
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Recommended Websites

Facts and Figures

Recommended Material
Breastfeeding Made Simple
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Interesting Articles

Breastfeeding and Alcohol
From Gini Baker, IBCLC. The half-life of alcohol is about 90 minutes. Some people say 1 hour, others say 2 hours. That means it peaks at that point, then it starts to leave your system. There is NO need to throw away breastmilk. You do NOT have to pump and dump. Why waste breastmilk?

What you should do is pump and save in small quantities of 20 ml. Then you put it in your freezer for about 3-6 months, depending on the type of freezer you have. Label it appropriately, like *drinking* or *alcohol*, whatever you want to help you remember.

The freezer helps break the alcohol (and milk) down. Then you can mix that milk with non-drinking milk. This does two things: the vessel (your baby) that gets the milk with alcohol will be bigger in three months than they are now, so it has less of an effect. Second, it's a smaller dosage. Whereas before your baby may have only drunk 40 ml now they're drinking 100 ml, so 20 ml is a smaller part of the milk.

Dads Can Help Too
Here are some photos of using feeding tubes to feed babies.
Korea vs. the World
I've written about breastfeeding in public in Korea and have mentioned breastfeeding in many other posts as well. Many doctors in Korea will tell you to breastfeed for only 100 days or only 6 months. Research has shown that if you don't breastfeed for at least a year you have to supplement with formula. As to the cut-off age, there really isn't one. The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends at least a year. WHO (World Health Organisation) and UNICEF recommend at least 2 years. At least doesn't mean you stop then, it means the minimum you should breastfeed for.


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Thursday, 17 July 2014

Placenta Encapsulation in Korea

Updated 23 March 2018

Human placentophagia, or consuming the placenta, is something that I had never heard of before I got pregnant. Typically women do placenta encapsulation, but there are also women who consume the raw placenta in smoothies. There are people who swear that it works and has tons of benefits. There are people who say it's gross and that none of the pros have been scientifically proven.

Legalities in Korea 
I'm not going to argue whether I think this is good or bad, or whether I agree or disagree. I'm simply stating the laws. I did not write these laws, nor did I vote them into existence. Whether I agree or disagree is not going to change the law. It is illegal in Korea, however, it is still done. You can try asking your doula, traditional medicine practitioner, midwife, or doctor if they know of anyone. Here are some placenta specialists in Korea. Some places are hush-hush about it and other places aren't. You can also do-it-yourself. See below for links on where to get supplies. The law was updated in mid January of this year, it's only in Korean.
 
Where to Find the Laws
Go to www.law.go.kr. Search for 폐기물. You'll click the first blue box on the left that says 벱령 then click the bubble that says 현행법령. As of today (23 March 2018), there are 17 results. It's number 13 and says, 폐기물관리법 시행규칙.

What is Medical Waste?
You can also look for 제31조(폐기물처리업자의 폐기물 보관량 및 처리기한) ① 법 제25조제9항제2호에서 "환경부령으로 정하는 양 또는 기간"이란 다음 각 호와 같다. <개정 2007.12.31., 2008.8.4., 2011.9.27., 2012.7.3., 2012.9.24., 2016.1.21., 2016.7.1., 2016.12.30.> 1. 폐기물 수집·운반업자가 임시보관장소에 폐기물을 보관하는 경우 가. 의료폐기물: 냉장 보관할 수 있는 섭씨 4도 이하의 전용보관시설에서 보관하는 경우 5일 이내, 그 밖의 보관시설에서 보관하는 경우에는 2일 이내. 다만, 영 별표 2 제1호의 격리의료폐기물(이하 "격리의료폐기물"이라 한다)의 경우에는 보관시설과 무관하게 2일 이내로 한다. 나. 의료폐기물 외의 폐기물: 중량 450톤 이하이고 용적이 300세제곱미터 이하, 5일 이내

Then click on this,영 별표 2 which takes you to a pop-up and defines what medical waste is.

The Enforcement Decree of waste management law says human's tissue, organ, part of human body, blood, pus are all biological wastes. It doesn't mention placenta (태반) specifically but is very inclusive.

Placenta Disposal
Search for 제11조(폐기물처리사업장 외의 장소에서의 폐기물보관시설 기준). Or 태반을, which means placenta. That sections talks about the proper disposal of placentas.

USFK Military
The military also talks about the laws in Korea, but it's from 2012. Here's the PDF.

Pros and Cons
I'm not a scientist and can see both the pros and the cons. The pros are that it helps with postpartum recovery, lactation support, and the prevention of fatigue and postpartum depression. The cons are that some people aren't certified to do it, some religions condone it, and some people can't bring themselves to do it.

I highly encourage you to read about placenta encapsulation. There are a lot of women out there who swear by it. Here are some more articles and discussion both the pros and cons of placenta encapsulation.
Where to Get Certified or Buy Supplies to DIY
There are certain organisations that can certify people to do placenta encapsulations, such as APPA, IPPA, ProDoula, and PBi. Some of these websites have places to search for placenta specialists. There's also, Find Placenta Encapsulation. There are some placenta specialists in Korea who will do it for you or you can also do it yourself.

IPPA and PBi have a kit you can buy. Below are some resources you might find helpful.

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Thursday, 3 July 2014

The Big Latch On 2014 in Seoul, Korea

Eat, Breastfeed, Repeat
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August is breastfeeding month and to celebrate there's going to be another Big Latch On. The dates are August 1 and 2. You can check out their Facebook page to find out time and location as well as see photos from last year's event.

If you'd like to show your support for Breastfeeding Awareness, look at the items below:

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Tuesday, 3 June 2014

NICUs in Korea

Updated 30 June 2017

Preemies are not the only babies put in the NICU. Even full-term babies are put in the NICU here in Korea. Below you can find out why and what you can do if your baby has to go to the NICU. You might also be interested in reading about hospitals and birthing clinics in Korea.

Western Culture
As an American, I would only go to the hospital if something is severely wrong, for example, I needed surgery or there was an emergency. Even with insurance, health care is very expensive. When I was little and had a cough, or runny nose, or stomach, my mom would keep us home from school and give us OTC medicine. If we had strep or pink eye, we'd go to a local clinic, the doctor would look at us, prescribe medicine and that was it. No IV needed. Americans pride themselves on independence and being tough. For example even when I've been violently ill due to food poisoning, I'm more likely to say I'm fine and don't need to go to the doctor. I know it'll pass and I'll be ok.

Korean Culture
Korean medical centers seems to error on the side of caution. Western medicine has become more popular and Koreans like big hospitals such as university hospitals. They believe that if you're sick you should go to the hospital, even if you have a cough or a sniffle. Hospitals like IVs. If you're at a hospital you'll see just about everyone with an IV or two in them, from infants to old people. Vitamin drips used to be more common than before with them automatically given, but now you have to ask for them.

Healthcare in Korea is very affordable. NHS is a good system and it serves the millions of people who live in Korea. Korean's have a group culture where there's focus on being independent and they're more likely to ask for help. When Koreans are dealing with foreigners I think that they're extra careful. They really, really don't want anything to go wrong. They want to take care of their foreign guests and give them the best treatment available. There's also the cultural side to doctors. Doctors are seen as all-knowing experts who should never be questioned. Their word is law.

What This Means for Westerns in Korea
When these things come together foreigners can have problems.
  • Error on the side of caution
  • Affordable healthcare
  • Group culture
  • Koreans taking care of foreigners
  • Doctors being perceived as all-knowing
If there's a minor problem with a newborn or the doctors think there might be a problem, the baby is sent to the NICU. One example is jaundice, which 80% of babies have. In the US they probably wouldn't put the baby in the NICU for jaundice unless it was severe. In Korea, they'd probably put the baby in the NICU even if jaundice was mild.

What You Can Do
Ask questions. If your doctor comes to you and says that your baby has jaundice and needs to go to the NICU don't automatically consent. You need to know what the bilirubin level is of your baby as well as what the normal range is. If your baby is only a little outside the normal range you might want to try alternative forms of helping jaundice, such as putting your baby in indirect sunlight and breastfeeding more often. If your baby is far outside the normal range you would probably consent to the NICU.

Ask other people. There are plenty of FB groups and forums and websites for parents where you can find answers. Internet searches can also help. Gathering information and getting firsthand accounts is useful, but in the end you will have to decide what's best for you and your baby.

If Your Baby is Taken to the NICU
NICUs usually only allow parents to come in two or three times a day for 20-30 minutes. That's it. Being completely cut off from you often isn't the best for you or your baby since babies thrive on physical contact, but that's the way it is. If you have a preemie, the father might not be able to hold the baby right away. Sometimes they only let the mother hold the baby until it gets bigger. It can be hard to see your baby in the NICU day after day, documenting their milestones can really help.

I know that Samsung is the exception to the rule and for the most part you have unlimited contact to your baby when they're in the NICU. People have said you can go from 9am-11pm.

Every person's situation is different, but you have a couple of choices if your hospital limits contact with your baby.
  • First, moms who cry constantly for a day or two and lament over how sad they are to be separated from their baby are often allowed to see their baby more often, like every couple hours. Sounds bad, but tugging at doctor and nurses' heartstrings can work.
  • Second, try to breastfeed as often as possible. Ask for your baby to be given expressed breastmilk. You may have to supplement with human milk fortifier. You will have to buy this online. It's hard to find in Korea and it's twice as much as what you would pay abroad.
  • Third, you might want to see if you can take your baby out of the NICU. This will depend on your baby's condition and what alternatives you have available.
  • Lastly, talk to other parents. Talking to others who have been in your situation will help you tremendously. Also ask for help once you and your baby get home from the hospital. You can try contacting doulas and breastfeeding counselors.

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