A hard and happy day of a 'gold' confinement nurse

（People's Daily Online）  11:18, January 30, 2013  

Edited and translated by Huang Jin, People's Daily Online

Confinement nurse is an emerging occupation in China. She serves mainly the puerpera and newly born infant. The work combines the work of baby sitter, nurse, dietitian and early childhood teacher. With the arrival of the baby boom, the demand of confinement nurses has exceeded supply.

Zhang Xinju, a confinement nurse, works in Hangzhou. Thanks to her professionalism, she wins appreciation from a lot of employers and becomes a "gold" confinement nurse with a monthly salary of 8,000 yuan.

Zhang said the good salary related to the hard working. She worked almost 24 hours every day in the first month after the baby was born, during which she appeased baby's crying at midnight, did breast pumping for the puerpera eight times a day, fed the baby every two hours and prepared the special nutrition foods for the puerpera.

In fact, being a good confinement nurse demands patience, care and professional knowledge of maternal and baby care. Zhang said she didn't want to attract attentions, because people in her hometown didn't understand her job, and thought that she was just a maid.