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Haohao

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
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