Mr. Liu's wife had an experience of being "forced to buy" when she gave birth, AiRong Network. Careful Mr. Liu looked up a lot of information online and prepared several sets of items from baby handkerchiefs, vests, little shorts, little hats, to baby bottles, milk powder, diapers, and even nursing belts and maternity sanitary products for new mothers.
In various hospitals, the use of maternity packages has become commonplace, with each new mother having one. Some hospitals inform pregnant women through prenatal classes that they will provide newborn packages and there is no need to prepare separately; however, some hospitals only inform family members after the mother is admitted or enters the delivery room or operating room that the package has been opened and payment is required.
Reporters found out that the products in the maternity packages vary among different hospitals, with some hospitals sourcing all their products from one manufacturer while others select the best products from different manufacturers through bidding.
What differs is that the prices of maternity packages vary across hospitals, ranging from over 100 to over 400 yuan. Different prices correspond to different items. Besides basic items such as baby clothes, sleeping bags, diapers, and nursing shirts for mothers, some hospital packages also include baby moisturizing oil, gloves, foot covers, and small pillows, causing the price to rise accordingly.
To help expecting parents prepare baby supplies, enthusiastic netizens have compiled the contents and prices of maternity packages from major hospitals in Beijing and posted them on relevant forums. One post disclosed the situation of maternity packages from 32 hospitals in Beijing: "Haidian Maternity Hospital costs 220 yuan, including two nursing shirts, two baby sleeping bags, one baby mattress, one small quilt, two packs of Johnson’s wet wipes, one pack of Fibi diapers, one pack of large adult medical pads, two packs of small adult medical pads, and one pack of super-large sanitary napkins; Tongren Hospital's maternity package includes five baby monk robes, three wrapping towels, one thick carrying blanket, one thin carrying blanket, one cotton sleeping bag, two bags of 35-piece NB Huggies diapers, one pack of 80-piece cute baby wipes, two nursing shirts, and a pair of small gloves."
The family had never purchased infant clothing, diapers, etc., from the hospital, but the hospital "forced" them to buy a maternity package priced at over 300 yuan. All the baby supplies prepared by the family before childbirth were not used.
The reporter visited more than ten top-tier hospitals and district maternal and child health care hospitals, and almost all of them provided this maternity package service.
This article was written by reporter Qiuming Li. The hospital stated it had never received any complaints or reports. The Health Bureau said there was no need to use sterilized clothing.
Subsequently, Mr. Liu raised the issue with the hospital, stating that his family had already prepared small clothes and did not want to purchase the hospital's maternity package. However, the hospital informed Mr. Liu that the infant supplies prepared by the family could not be brought into the operating room, and they needed to use the unified supplies specifically prepared by the hospital for mothers and infants. Moreover, the baby's clothes and blankets worn out of the delivery room were all from the maternity package, “the package has been opened, so payment cannot be avoided.”
Some parents are unwilling to pay for the hospital's "big gift pack." Mr. Liu and Mr. Chen hold the same view, believing that since they had already prepared clean and comfortable small clothes, there was no need to purchase again. Some new mothers think that some of the products in the maternity package are useless, “for example, we didn't use the small socks and caps, the baby's head is too small for the cap, so we had to buy them separately outside.” Ms. Luo, who gave birth at a certain affiliated hospital of Peking University, said that newborns' backheads are relatively round, making the pillow in the maternity package unsuitable, so it could only be used as decoration.
Families encounter "forced purchases," recommended on Weibo | Today's Weibo hot topics (Editor: SN014). In mid-August, his wife showed signs of labor and was immediately sent to the obstetrics department of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, where she subsequently gave birth to a son.
As one of the well-known obstetrics departments in Beijing with a high volume of deliveries and good reputation, Nurse Supervisor Duan of the postpartum ward at Peking University First Hospital told our reporter that the hospital provides two types of maternal and infant supplies. One mainly consists of newborn items, including two sleeping bags, two tops, caps, umbilical cord care patches, etc., priced at over 120 yuan; the other consists of optional items such as nursing shirts for mothers, baby towels, quilts, disposable baby bathing towels, etc., priced at just over 200 yuan. Family members agree to the purchase at the billing counter and receive official receipts.
Regarding whether maternal and infant supplies are necessary products, Nurse Supervisor Duan stated that the current maternal and infant supplies were determined after years of consideration and continuous improvement, ensuring both the basic needs of mothers and infants and preventing cross-infection among newborns. "If the baby is not with the mother, such as low-weight babies or premature babies, we will not recommend unnecessary maternal and infant supplies."
However, when it comes to "forced buying," all hospitals remain silent. Multiple top-tier hospitals interviewed claimed they had never forced mothers to purchase these items. If economic reasons prevent families from purchasing, hospitals can return the goods, but when asked about the number of returns, multiple top-tier hospital obstetric staff thoughtfully responded that there were "almost none."
Last week, the reporter saw at Beijing FuLi AiYing Hygiene Products Co., Ltd., located in Fangjiacun within Guangqu East Road in Chaoyang District, dozens of boxes of packed and ready-to-be-shipped baby diapers, knitted sleeping bags, and other items stacked at the entrance of the compound. Several female workers inside the production workshop were hunched over sewing machines, rushing to complete orders from thousands of hospitals nationwide. Sales personnel of the factory stated that they exclusively provided over 80 varieties of textile and disposable nursing products for hospital obstetrics departments. They have cooperation agreements with hospitals in more than 20 provinces and cities across the country, including around 40 large hospitals in Beijing alone, such as Changping Maternal and Child Health Hospital and No. 466 Hospital.
Despite some hospitals claiming that the use of uniform clothing and quilts reduced cases of eye secretions and red diaper rashes among newborns during their stay in the hospital, the person in charge of the Maternal and Child Health and Mental Health Department expressed that the disinfection conditions in places like operating rooms and wards within the hospital were sufficient to ensure the safety of mothers and infants. "There is absolutely no need to uniformly use sterilized clothing; providing clean and comfortable small clothes by parents would suffice." The person in charge added that before the introduction of these packages, there were no issues with the safety of mothers and infants in obstetrics departments. Furthermore, if hospitals force mothers to use and purchase these "big gift packs," it would constitute a violation of regulations.
Some hospitals indeed have price markups.
"The maternity package" refers to a bundle of maternal and infant supplies, including newborn clothes, small quilts, diapers, etc. The items and prices in maternity packages differ between hospitals.
Recently, reporters found during investigations at multiple hospitals that the phenomenon of newborn parents needing to purchase "maternity packages" exists in many hospitals. Additionally, some products within the "maternity package" were accused of having price markups.
The person in charge stated that this "big gift pack" does not fall under medical fee items, and health administrative departments will investigate this matter. Reporters learned that last Friday, the Municipal Health Bureau had already begun investigating the "big gift pack" situation in various hospitals.
All hospitals sell maternity packages. Share to: Welcome to comment, I want to comment.
A nurse supervisor from a well-known top-tier hospital frankly admitted that the price of the maternity package provided by the hospital was over 440 yuan, including sleep sacks of varying thickness depending on the season, feeding shirts, delivery caps, baby caps, small quilts, bath gel, moisturizing oil, wet wipes, feeding aids, Huggies diapers, and more than a dozen other things, "considering it as quite comprehensive, what's left can be taken home." Baby beds display maternity packages forcibly sold by the hospital. This photo was taken by reporter Haijin Wang.
For the request to interview regarding maternity package matters, multiple hospitals stated that it was inconvenient to conduct interviews. Another hospital's relevant responsible person indicated that although health administrative departments have no specific or mandatory requirements, no one has raised objections or complaints until now regarding the history of maternity packages, "at least over 10 years," "it's not news, there's nothing worth talking about."
Similarly, Mr. Chen's son was born at Beijing Hospital, experiencing the same "forced purchase" of the maternity package. Mr. Chen said that despite multiple parents preparing themselves, the hospital still used the products from the "big gift pack" without obtaining parental consent. However, most people were immersed in the joy of becoming parents and rarely cared about these few hundred yuan, "we paid when they asked, no one refused."
Regarding doubts raised by some parents questioning whether hospitals profit from this fee item, a relevant responsible person from a certain maternal and child health hospital stated that preparing maternal and infant supplies for pregnant women and newborns is something every hospital does. Mostly determined based on the needs of infants and new mothers in the obstetrics department, services outsourcing companies with agreements with the hospital bid to choose the manufacturers of maternal and infant supplies and then sell them openly to parturients, with hospitals not profiting from it.
Is the use of "mother-infant big gift packs" by various hospitals compliant? Last week, the reporter called the Maternal and Child Health and Mental Health Department of the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau. A relevant responsible person stated that they had not heard of hospitals selling or using such maternity packages. Simultaneously, the person stated that health administrative departments have not required hospitals to uniformly use newborn supplies, nor have they received complaints or reflections regarding such "forced buying and selling" incidents.
The obstetrics personnel stated that currently, all hospitals are striving to create quality nursing areas. Obstetrics departments have unified norms and training for the care, bathing, and dressing of infants, "take small clothes for instance, nurses practice wearing monk robes daily, learning how to do it quickly, safely, and accurately. Being familiar with one type of clothing makes operations easier, whereas if your family brings one-piece outfits or separates, it not only complicates the process but also takes more time."
Sales personnel said that due to the large sales volume in hospital obstetrics departments, the company does not have direct retail stores. However, because in-hospital sales inevitably incur a cost difference, repeat customers often come back to buy directly. He said, taking ultra-thin 20-piece urine pads as an example, the ex-factory price is 13 yuan, but some hospitals may sell them for 18 yuan. "Compared to foreign brand-name diapers, ours are much cheaper, and they have passed the municipal disease control center's disinfection inspection, so most hospitals trust us."
In June this year, Mr. Liu's family started preparing baby supplies. At that time, there were still two months until his wife's delivery date. "We were afraid it might be too late," Mr. Liu said.
Regarding this, relevant personnel from the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau stated that "maternity packages" are not essential items in specified medical service charges. Currently, health authorities have launched an investigation into this matter.
"Newborns grow fast, and within days, they outgrow the clothes. And if it's a normal delivery, generally, the mother can be discharged after two days," Mr. Liu said. In the maternity package from the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, besides two feeding shirts, a small quilt, and a small pillow, there were nearly 10 pieces of baby monk robes and sleeping bags, far more than needed.
A certain unnamed top-tier hospital obstetrics personnel stated that with the increase in hospital deliveries in recent years, to ensure the "absolute safety" of mothers and infants, using uniformly purchased, certified maternal and infant supplies can increase safety factors and reduce the risk of in-hospital infections. "Health departments require zero maternal deaths in all hospitals, and once there is a maternal death, the top-tier status will be revoked." Under such high pressure, proposing the use of sterilized infant supplies is understandable.
"But the content equipped by each hospital varies. Some hospitals even equip five monk robes, which is indeed exaggerated," although as a salesperson for the manufacturer, he couldn't help but express indignation when discussing the contents of various hospital maternity packages.
Factory:
The salesperson mentioned that due to the large sales volume in hospital obstetrics departments, the company does not have direct retail stores. However, since in-hospital sales inevitably incur a cost difference, repeat customers often come back to buy directly. He said, taking ultra-thin 20-piece urine pads as an example, the ex-factory price is 13 yuan, but some hospitals may sell them for 18 yuan. "Compared to foreign brand-name diapers, ours are much cheaper, and they have passed the municipal disease control center's disinfection inspection, so most hospitals trust us."
When the son was carried out of the delivery room, he was already dressed anew. Nurses informed Mr. Liu that he needed to pay 352 yuan for the maternity package fee.
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