SEPTEMBER 19 — In year 2016, Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, the then Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development said that post-delivery confinement care centres that do not offer medical facilities must register with the Welfare Department or risk being shut down. However, the confinement centres were never licensed under the said ministry.
In the recent years, the postnatal industry is booming in Malaysia with packages offered up to RM40,000 for 28 days of postpartum period. However, there has been complaints, among others, the substandard services provided by the confinement centres which resulted in serious medical implications to the mothers and infants. These complaints were then resolved in private between the confinement centres and the mothers. What remedies are available to the mothers? Who can the mothers turn to in the case of dispute or mishaps?
Not under Welfare Department
A check on the Department of Social Welfare’s website shows there is a list of registered child care centre searchable and divided into states and district. However, the list does not confinement centres. Under Child Care Centre Act 1984, “child care centre” means any premises at which four or more children under the age of four years from more than one household are received to be looked after for reward. Obviously, confinement centres do not come under this definition of “child care centre”. In that case, the then Deputy Minister’s statement does not make sense. Therefore, the Ministry is unable to take legal actions against the bad confinement centres.
Midwives and nurses are registered
Midwives and nurses are required to be registered under Midwives Act 1966. Under the said Act, “midwife” basically means a person who take care of pregnant women from beginning of pregnancy until end of puerperium (about six weeks after childbirth) and the care of their infants during neonatal or newborn period, whilst “nurse” means a person who is registered as a nurse in accordance with any written law. In other words, the Midwives Board or Nursing Board may take disciplinary actions against the midwives and nurses who work in the confinement centres respectively.
No avenues to lodge complaint against confinement centres
The contracts signed by the mothers and the confinement centres will detail out the remedies available to the new mothers. Therefore, new mothers need to read and review the contractual terms carefully before signing off their crucial recovery period to the hands of confinement centres.
Apart from these contractual terms, the mothers can lodge complaints against the particular midwives or nurses to the Nursing Division, Ministry of Health based on its laws, regulations and codes of professional conduct.
Considering there is no avenue for the mothers to complaint with regards to the confinement centres, I appeal and urge Kak Wan or her ministry to study this lacunae, draft new laws or amend existing laws to monitor the confinement centres and to protect mothers and infants before any unfortunate event happen.
*Jackson Yee is a concerned future dad.
*This is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
