Young moms eager for child rearing tips ready to pay for knowledge services

Maternity and infant knowledge platforms are gaining popularity among young mothers, who have huge demand for pregnancy and parenting information from the internet and are willing to pay to access such content.

Dingxiang Mama, which is affiliated with DXY－a leading Chinese digital healthcare technology company－is banking on online paid knowledge services and will increase investment through offering online lessons.

The company has recently upgraded its search tool "pregnancy encyclopedia", which is designed to help young parents solve parenting problems. Users can quickly obtain professional and authoritative answers by entering questions.

It has more than 800 experts, most of whom are doctors from Chinese Grade 3A hospitals, the highest of China's three-tier grading system for public hospitals, and a reviewing committee that is composed of more than 1,000 doctors and experts.

Chu Yang, vice-president of DXY and founder of Dingxiang Mama, said paid knowledge services related to maternity and infant information is in a nascent stage and he sees huge demand for pregnancy and parenting knowledge from users willing to pay for it.

Chu said the company has been profitable and maintained growth over the past two years, and paid knowledge services account for about 80 percent of its total revenue, with the number of paying customers surpassing 800,000.

He is bullish about the prospects of paid online content, while noting the maternal and infant segment is the biggest sector of the healthcare industry.

Du Yidan, co-founder of Dingxiang Mama, said that although the number of newborns has been declining in recent years, investment in parenting is increasing.

The new generation of mothers prefers to pay for professional and high-quality content and services, as well as relieve anxiety through studying mothering techniques, Du said, adding that the company's main users come from first and second-tier cities with high levels of education and incomes.

Dingxiang Mama is committed to providing professional maternal and baby information services for mothers, with its users surpassing 16 million by the end of 2020.

Last year, it launched a maternity college for pregnant women with more than 300 lessons, teaching them how to prepare for pregnancy, ensure proper nutrition, stay healthy and get in shape, as well as providing information about childbirth and newborn care.

Zhang Yufang, 29, a primary schoolteacher in Beijing with a 3-month-old daughter, has taken part in several online paid courses provided by Dingxiang Mama since she gave birth.

"I feel overwhelmed and anxious from time to time as a new mom and encounter some problems about parenting. So I asked my friend who has a four-year-old son, and she recommended I get answers through maternal and infant information apps," Zhang said.

She added that she has acquired a lot of scientific knowledge covering methods of looking after newborns, managing infant supplements and getting back in shape after childbirth. "These courses are very helpful as they teach me how to be a good mom."

Beijing-based internet consultancy Analysys said revenue of China's paid online knowledge industry reached 23 billion yuan ($3.56 billion) in 2020, while the number of users in the paid knowledge sector was 540 million.

BabyTree, a leading online parenting services platform in China, has also launched online paid expert knowledge services and started generating significant revenue from the undertaking.

"Post-1990s parents tend to purchase mid to high-end maternal and baby products and are willing to obtain and share information about parenting through online channels," said Thomas Pun, senior director of NielsenIQ China, adding they are open to new ideas, trust domestic brands and prefer to try new things.

Pun said demand for maternal and infant products witnessed strong growth in smaller cities and counties where residents have a greater desire to have babies.

Yu Bin, an independent commentator on the internet industry, said the knowledge-sharing industry should focus on high-quality content, and provide more forward-looking knowledge to attract users.