The Nanfang / Blog

The ability to breastfeed becomes a lucrative market in Shenzhen, some customers are adults

Posted: 07/7/2013 11:25 pm

If you’ve ever had to do something embarrassing or ethically dubious to pay the bills, you’re not alone.

An agency in Shenzhen is offering jobs that pay up to 12,000 RMB a month to nannies who can breastfeed. And some of the customers are adults who enjoy the health benefits of breast milk, the Southern Metropolis Daily reports.

He Mei, 25, became a mother two months ago. Her husband works in a factory in Baoan District and earns just 2,000 yuan a month. After considering some of the monumental costs, such as tuition fees, their family would be faced with in years to come, He Mei made a very tough decision. She left her baby in the care of her mother-in-law so she could go to Futian District and work as a nanny who offered breastfeeding services. She earns 8,500 yuan a month plus room and board.

He Mei got the gig through the agency Xinxinyu. Its representative Lin Jun told the paper that it was the only agency in the country that offers such a service. The agency earns 6,000 yuan every time it hooks a nanny up with a family.

When discussing his success, Lin Jun from Henan said he had been in the business for ten years. For the first six years, business was slow until he discovered a niche: selling breast milk to adults. Espousing the health benefits, he said: “Especially for people who have just had major surgery, breast milk is the best tonic.”

Some adult customers even want to suck the milk directly from the women’s breast. “If the pay is good, then the nannies hardly ever object.”

Lin Jun recruits all around the country. Prospective nannies must come to Shenzhen for an interview, and also pass a health check and be of reproductive age. The successful applicants sign contracts of 6-8 months and can earn up to 12,000 yuan a month.

The agency’s clients come in four categories, according to Lin: New mothers who don’t have much milk, mothers whose breast milk has caused an adverse reaction in the child, mothers who fear what breastfeeding will do to their own body, and the last category…adults who drink breast milk for the health benefits.

In May, mainland China’s first milk bank opened in Guangzhou, but some doctors are skeptical about the safety of doing this.

Moreover, it is illegal to sell breast milk as a commodity but Lin Jun gets round this by simply not mentioning it in the contract – smooth.

Haohao

Bikini-clad beauties advocate the use of breast milk at Hong Kong border

Posted: 03/11/2013 1:00 pm


Three attractive young women stood at Luohu Checkpoint in Shenzhen bearing signs advocating the use of breast milk in light of recent restrictions on the purchase of milk powder from Hong Kong on March 8, International Women’s Day, CTDSB reports.

A sign urges onlookers to say no to milk powder.

The slogans on the signs read: “Limits on what you can buy don’t limit how much you can love;” “Milk powder is finite, a mother’s love is infinite;” “You don’t need foreign milk powder, you just need breast milk,” (the catchiness is somewhat lost in translation).

The issue of milk powder has become a flashpoint between Hong Kong and Mainland families, with Hong Kong mothers complaining Mainland shoppers have been buying up the territory’s supply, leaving none behind for local families.  Hong Kong has responded to concerns with a new policy enacted on March 1, which said the export of powdered formula for infants and children under 36 months, including milk powder and soya milk powder, is prohibited without a license. Individuals aged 16 or older are allowed to pass through customs with only two cans of 0.9 kilograms each, according to Hong Kong’s Information Service Department, as was reported in Global Times.

Arrests have even been made of people trying to smuggle milk powder into the mainland, leading to the Sina Weibo meme: “You don’t get arrested for selling unsafe milk powder, but you do get arrested for buying safe milk powder.”

One onlooker told reporters that being breast fed was the reason why he grew up to be so handsome.

The protestors receive support.

After getting dressed, the girls explained that they felt very strongly about the issue. But if their figures are anything to go by, none of them has any experience of breast feeding.

Haohao
AROUND THE WEB
Keep in Touch

What's happening this week in Shenzhen, Dongguan and Guangzhou? Sign up to be notified when we launch the This Week @ Nanfang newsletter.

sign up for our newsletter

Nanfang TV