Who Cares? Relational Work and the Use of Paid Postpartum Care in Chinese Families

• In Event: 41003 - Institutions, Values, and Family Changes in Asia

Abstract

This paper applies Zelizer’s (2012) concept of relational work to examine the rise of paid care and its impact on family dynamics in China. It argues that individuals restructure family relationships by integrating caregiving responsibilities into the relational frameworks of marketized commercial labor. Based on 40 interviews with middle-class families who use paid postpartum care and 25 interviews with postpartum care workers in China, this study investigates how both workers and family members engage in relational work to reconcile economic and familial responsibilities in Chinese families.

Author

• Fenghua Chen, University of California-San Diego