A national quality standard for the mother and childcare services sector was released by the Standardization Administration of China recently, which is being seen as a first step toward regulation of the "confinement nursing" market.

In recent years, this occupation - which Western readers might call "nannying" - has become increasingly popular in China's mega cities.

But along with its rising popularity, the employing of these nurses, or yuesao in Chinese, is now being questioned by many, because of rising instances of unprofessionalism and the growing costs involved, prompting calls for urgent government intervention.