American mom spent $5,000 to stay in Taiwan’s postpartum care centers

Katie Lee says what she describes as a “traumatic” experience giving birth in the U.S. made her question if she wanted a second child. A move abroad to Taiwan helped her reconsider.

Lee, 34, moved to from Columbus, Ohio to Taipei, Taiwan in July 2024 with her husband, Jason, and 5-year-old son, Forrest. The couple saved up for a 13-month career break in time for their son’s kindergarten year so they could spend more time with his paternal grandparents overseas.

Lee says preparing for their year-long sabbatical made her revisit plans for a second baby. Enough time had passed for her to heal from the postpartum anxiety and depression she experienced with her first pregnancy, she tells CNBC Make It.

Plus, there were a lot of aspects to the Taiwan health-care system that made her feel more comfortable.

Lee secured her spousal visa, which granted her residency status, about three months prior to leaving for Taiwan; she got access to Taiwan’s national health insurance after six months of living there. “Everything was aligning, and it made me feel more excited about process,” Lee says.

Here’s how her second pregnancy in Taiwan compared to her first in the U.S.

Back in the U.S., Lee recalls most OB-GYN appointments coming out to around $150 to $200 per visit, even with insurance. “We didn’t have good insurance at the time,” she says.

That adds up when you’re scheduling appointments for every month until the third trimester when they get to the point of becoming weekly.

Giving birth to Forrest involved paying “a boatload of money,” Lee says: Between the birth and hospital stay, Forrest’s 23 hours in the NICU and follow-up appointments, the Lees maxed out their high deductible insurance plan’s out-of-pocket maximum of $10,000.

In Taiwan, meanwhile, the family paid a lot less for a much more accommodating experience.

Lee gave birth to her daughter, Ruby, in July. OB-GYN appointments were under $30 USD prior to obtaining national health insurance. After securing benefits, checkups dropped to between $6 and $16.

Lee gave birth at a private birthing clinic for under $2,000, where she spent two days and three nights in a private room with nutritionist-provided meals included. Lee estimates staying at a public hospital in Taiwan could cost as low as a few hundred dollars.

Then, Lee spent 10 days at a postpartum care facility at a rate of $300 a day. The cost covers 24/7 baby care, all meals prepared by a postpartum nutritionist, Chinese medicine treatments and mom-focused accommodations like free massages, hair washes and yoga sessions.

“It basically felt like being at a luxury hotel with the baby care and food delivery programs,” Lee says.

Knowing she’d have support in the days immediately following childbirth made a huge difference, she says.

“Because I had a bad first experience, I felt a lot more secure knowing that at least the first 10 days I would have round-the-clock care at an affordable price, meals would be taken care of and everything would be thought out,” Lee says.

Taiwan’s postpartum clinics have been around for some 30 years, making it one of the world’s oldest and most formalized postpartum industries; similar facilities are popular across other parts of Eastern Asia.

Lee’s 10 days at a postpartum facility is much shorter than what’s typical in Taiwan. New moms typically spend closer to 30 days in these centers, which corresponds with the ancient Chinese practice of a “sitting month” intended to help women recover from childbirth.

Postpartum clinics are a booming business: The number of facilities grew four-fold from 2006 to 2016 with 193 registered locations, according to reporting from Quartz. Over 50% of new mothers visited a postpartum clinic in Taiwan in 2014, according to government figures, and spent an average of $4,000 (close to $5,500 in today’s dollars) for their stay.

“Typically people are saving up for a long time,” Lee says.

Even for a shorter stay, “I feel super, super grateful,” she says. “I just can’t help but think that every woman deserves this type of experience, something that feels accessible and affordable. It shouldn’t be such a financial, physical or emotional burden.”

“The fact that all this was accessible to me as a foreigner was just mind-blowing,” she adds, “and a little bit sad that there’s so little offered in the States.”

Lee says there are still challenges in adjusting to being a new mom again. She continues to struggle with postpartum anxiety but says it’s not as difficult as the first time around. Studies show providing care to mothers after childbirth can decrease the incidence and severity of postpartum depression.

Bringing home a baby feels like more of a communal family experience in Taiwan, Lee adds.

“Grandma is at our place every evening helping take care of the baby,” she says. “[My husband’s] dad is driving us places. His sister is also spending weekends with us. They just kind of all assume, ‘Baby is here. Of course we would be there help.'”

“It’s just so helpful, because in the States after you leave the hospital, it just feels like you’re on your own,” unless you have family nearby, Lee says.

Another big difference has been in how much Taiwanese parenting doesn’t rely on keeping the baby to a feeding or nap schedule.

“In the States, it’s like people want to regulate the baby for their convenience, like feed them on a schedule of every two and a half hours to three hours, so that you can get them into a routine [and have] nap times,” Lee says. “Since I am an anxious person, getting baby on a schedule, a nearly impossible thing to do already, doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense [for me].”

Meanwhile, as far as her experience in Taiwan, “Baby scheduling is just not how they do it here,” Lee says, “and I really appreciate that.”

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