• 据美国《世界日报》报道,南加州月子中心今年初被美国联邦政府大规模扫荡,赴美生子的中国孕妇人心惶惶,不少转至纽约待产,使月子餐需求量飙增。纽约市法拉盛专做月子餐的业者皆表示生意明显上升,顾客遍及皇后区、曼哈顿、长岛和新州。

    法拉盛的“陈妈妈养生月子餐”老板周佳旻指出,每日烹煮约20人份的月子餐,中国大陆顾客约占60%,比例不断增加,而中国台湾仅30%,另有听亲友介绍华人月子餐的白人及华裔移民第二代占10%。

    周佳旻表示,过去中国孕妇多住月子中心,如今月子中心被扫荡后,她们改为自己租房,或住亲戚家,分散在皇后区、长岛纳苏郡、新州,还有的是独居在曼哈顿高级公寓,非常隐性。

    According to the World Journal, following a large-scale crackdown on maternity centers in Southern California by the U.S. federal government earlier this year, many Chinese pregnant women who had traveled to the U.S. to give birth were left feeling anxious, and many relocated to New York to await childbirth, causing a surge in demand for postpartum meals. Businesses in Flushing, New York, specializing in postpartum meals, all reported a significant increase in business, with customers spread across Queens, Manhattan, Long Island, and New Jersey.

    Zhou Jiamin, the owner of "Mama Chen's Postpartum Health Meals" in Flushing, noted that she cooks approximately 20 servings of postpartum meals daily, with customers from mainland China accounting for about 60%, a proportion that is constantly increasing.  Customers from Taiwan account for only 30%, while the remaining 10% are Caucasians and second-generation Chinese immigrants who learned about Chinese postpartum meals through friends and family.

    Zhou Jiamin stated that in the past, Chinese pregnant women mostly stayed in maternity centers. Now, after the crackdown on these centers, they have resorted to renting their own apartments or staying with relatives, scattered across Queens, Nassau County on Long Island, and New Jersey. Some even live alone in high-end apartments in Manhattan, making them very difficult to track.

    她指出接触的中国大陆孕妇多来自北京和上海,通常有高学历,英文好,并且家里经济条件普遍不错。

    不少移民也瞄准中国大陆孕妇,经营起家庭式养生月子餐外送。“巧媳妇月子养生餐”老板王春桃则表示,中国大陆年轻女性愈来愈注重保养,希望藉由产后坐月子调养身体。

    由于愈来愈多中国孕妇自行赴美,不透过中介或月子中心,如何接触这群顾客成为月子餐业者的挑战。周佳旻表示四年前与66岁的婆婆“陈妈妈”陈林香创业,刚开始生意冷清,一度考虑关门,随着不少人在网上大力推荐,生意逐渐起飞。“很多人建议我要开微信账号,能招来更多中国产妇,今年底或许会考虑采用。”

    幸福厨房的奥黛莉·陈也指出,月子餐公司若开发出App订餐直接宅配到府,生意将有望扩展至非亚裔顾客。

    She pointed out that the Chinese mainland pregnant women she encountered mostly came from Beijing and Shanghai, usually had high levels of education, spoke good English, and generally came from well-off families.

    Many immigrants are also targeting pregnant women from mainland China, operating home-based postpartum meal delivery services. Wang Chun-tao, the owner of "Clever Wife Postpartum Wellness Meals," said that young women from mainland China are increasingly focusing on self-care and hope to improve their health through postpartum confinement.

    Because more and more Chinese pregnant women are traveling to the US independently, without using agencies or postpartum centers, reaching these customers has become a challenge for postpartum meal providers. Zhou Jia-min said that she started her business four years ago with her 66-year-old mother-in-law, "Mother Chen" Chen Lin-xiang.  Initially, business was slow, and they even considered closing down. However, after many people highly recommended their service online, business gradually took off. "Many people suggested that I open a WeChat account to attract more Chinese mothers, and I might consider doing so by the end of this year."

    Audrey Chen of Happy Kitchen also pointed out that if postpartum meal companies develop an app for ordering and direct home delivery, their business could potentially expand to non-Asian customers.