Find a japa maid near you
Verified japa maids for the first weeks after delivery: newborn bathing and malish, mother's recovery care, feeding support and night duty. Review ID-checked profiles, chat safely and agree the salary directly, with no agent commission.
Hiring a japa maid in India
The weeks after a delivery are the point at which most India families need help the most and have the least time to find it. A japa maid (sometimes written jaapa) is a specialist in exactly this window: she cares for the newborn and for the mother's recovery, usually for the first 40 to 90 days.
It is also the hire where trust matters most, and where families are most often quoted a large agency fee. On Sevetu you review ID/KYC-verified japa maid profiles yourself, interview over safe in-app chat, and agree the salary directly with her. There is no agency in between and no commission.
What is included in japa care?
You define the exact duties when you post your job. Some families want only newborn care; others want the mother's meals and massage included. Agree it explicitly before she starts. It is the single most common cause of a japa arrangement going wrong.
What japa care actually looks like, week by week
The work changes a lot over the japa period. Knowing the shape of it helps you decide how many weeks to book and what to agree up front.
Week 1: the heaviest
The mother is recovering and the baby feeds every two to three hours around the clock. The japa maid does the night waking, nappies, swaddling, sterilising and the first oil baths. Most families find this the week they could not have managed alone.
Weeks 2 to 3: settling
A rhythm appears. Daily malish for baby and mother, bathing, washing baby clothes, and helping with feeding position and latch. If you want traditional post-partum food, this is when it matters most.
Weeks 4 to 6: handover begins
The mother is stronger and starting to take over. A good japa maid teaches rather than just does: how to hold during a bath, how to read hunger cues, how to swaddle. Many families step down from 24-hour to day-only here.
Weeks 7 to 12: optional extension
Some families stop at 40 days, some continue to 90. By now the work is closer to nanny work than japa work, and it is worth renegotiating the role and the salary rather than drifting on unchanged.
Japa maid vs nanny vs baby nurse vs maid
These four roles get used interchangeably and they are not the same. Hiring the wrong one is the most common and most expensive mistake families make in the first month.
| Role | Looks after | Typical period | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japa maid | Mother and newborn | 40 to 90 days | The weeks right after delivery: recovery, malish, night feeds |
| Nanny / babysitter | The child only | Ongoing, months to years | Babies past the newborn stage, toddlers, after-school care |
| Baby nurse / home nurse | Medical needs of mother or baby | As clinically needed | Premature babies, surgical recovery, anything needing clinical training |
| Maid / house help | The house, not people | Ongoing | Cleaning, dishes and laundry, often hired alongside a japa maid |
A japa maid is not a nurse. If your baby was premature, is on oxygen or feeding support, or your own recovery involves wound care or complications, you need a qualified home nurse, not a japa maid, and not both rolled into one person. Ask your hospital for a referral. Sevetu does not place medical staff.
40, 60 or 90 days?
40 days
The traditional sawa mahina period and the most common booking. Enough to get through the hardest recovery weeks. Choose this if you have family staying to help afterwards.
60 days
A middle path that carries you past the first growth spurt and the worst of the sleep disruption. Sensible for a first baby, or if you are on your own during the day.
90 days
Usually chosen for twins, a caesarean recovery, or when the mother returns to work early. Costs more, so agree the end date rather than leaving it open.
Whatever you pick, write the start and end dates into the work agreement, and agree in advance what happens if the baby arrives early or late. That single clause prevents most japa disputes.
Other names for the same role
Depending on where you are in India you may hear jaapa maid, japa bai, monthly nurse, confinement nanny, dai, or simply baby massage maid. They describe the same post-natal role. If an agency quotes you very different prices for what sound like different jobs, ask exactly what the duties are. The naming often changes but the work does not.
How to hire, in four honest steps
Post your japa job
Share your expected delivery date, your locality in India, how many weeks of care you want and whether you need day or live-in. It takes about two minutes.
Review verified applicants
Compare stated japa experience, languages and ID verification at a glance. You always know who you are talking to.
Interview & agree terms
Chat in-app, ask about her experience with newborns, and agree the salary, start date and duration directly with her.
Sign a work agreement
Record the dates, duties and salary in a digital work agreement so both sides know exactly what was agreed.
How much does a japa maid cost?
Japa work is paid above ordinary childcare because it is short-term, skilled and often overnight. Typical market ranges across India in 2026:
Day japa (8 to 12 hours)
₹18,000 to ₹25,000 / month
Daytime newborn and mother care, going home at night.
Live-in / 24-hour japa
₹25,000 to ₹35,000+ / month
Round-the-clock care including night feeds, with a room at home.
Twins or caesarean recovery
Add ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 / month
More hands-on work, so experienced japa maids charge more.
These are typical market ranges across India, not Sevetu's prices. You agree the wage directly with the japa maid and it is recorded in your digital work agreement. Sevetu never takes a commission or cut of the salary. Posting a job and reviewing verified applicants is always free. See the full India salary guide.
What to check before you hire a japa maid
Book early
Experienced japa maids in India are usually committed months in advance. Most families start looking in the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy.
Agree the duration up front
Japa is a fixed stretch, commonly 40, 60 or 90 days. Say clearly when it starts and ends, and what happens if the baby arrives early or late.
Be explicit about the mother's care
Some japa maids do the mother's massage and cooking; some only care for the baby. Assume nothing. Write it into the agreement.
Ask about newborn experience
Ask how many newborns she has cared for, whether she has handled twins or caesarean recoveries, and which languages she speaks at home.
Sort out night duty properly
If she is doing night feeds, she needs somewhere to rest during the day. Agree the sleeping arrangement before she starts, not after.
Verify identity yourself
Look for the Verified badge, and still meet in person before the start date. A KYC check confirms who someone is. It is not a background check.
When to book, and why the seventh month matters
Almost every family starts looking for a japa maid after the baby arrives, and almost every family discovers the same thing: the experienced ones are already committed. Japa work runs in fixed blocks of six to twelve weeks, so a good japa maid’s calendar is spoken for months ahead, not days.
Start looking in the seventh month. Confirm someone in the eighth. That gives you time to actually speak to two or three people, check references properly rather than in a panic, and agree terms while you are still rested enough to think about them. It also leaves room for the thing that always happens: the baby arriving early.
Book a start window, not a date
No one knows the delivery date. Agree a two-week window around the due date and what happens if labour starts early or runs late. A japa maid who has done this before will expect the question.
Ask what happens if you go over
If she is booked to another family straight after you, an extra ten days is not available. Knowing that in the eighth month is information. Discovering it in week eleven is a problem.
Agree a small advance, and only that
A modest holding amount to reserve the block is normal and reasonable. Paying a large sum up front to an agent you have not met is not, and you have no way to recover it.
Meet before the birth, not after
One conversation while you are still comfortable tells you more than a week of texts from a hospital bed. It is also when you find out whether she will actually suit your household.
After a caesarean, the work is different
Roughly two in five Indian hospital births are now caesarean, and postnatal care after one is not the same job as after a vaginal delivery. Say which you are expecting, or have had, when you post, because it changes who should be applying.
After a caesarean the mother cannot lift, bend or twist for several weeks, so the japa maid does more of the physical handling of the baby: lifting for feeds, nappy changes through the night, bathing. Traditional abdominal malish and belly binding are not done over a healing incision, and anyone who offers to is telling you they have not done this before. Ask instead for someone who has supported C-section recovery and knows to leave the scar alone.
After a vaginal delivery the mother is usually mobile sooner, and the work leans more towards the traditional side: oil massage for mother and baby, the postnatal diet, help establishing feeds and a sleep pattern. For twins, assume you need a second pair of hands or a live-in arrangement, and say so in the post rather than hoping one person will manage.
The eight things to settle in writing
Japa work is live-in, intimate and short. There is no time to renegotiate in week three, and the household is in no state to argue. Settle these eight while you are still pregnant.
A registered company, and what verification covers
Sevetu is operated by Fiel Private Limited, a company registered in India (CIN U63120BR2026PTC085183). We charge no commission: not to your family, not to the japa maid. You agree a salary and pay it directly.
You are inviting someone to live in your home at the most exposed moment your family will have, so be clear about what our badge means. The Verified badge is an Aadhaar-based identity check: it confirms a person is who they say they are. It is not a police check and not a criminal background check, and we will not call it one. If you want police verification, state police forces run one for domestic workers and our verification page explains how to arrange it. Speak to the last two families she worked for, and ask them about nights.
Questions before you post? Call +91 81477 48107 or email info@sevetu.com. About Sevetu →
Why hire a japa maid through Sevetu
Japa maids across India
Sevetu is rolling out across India. Post your job with your locality and verified japa maids near you can apply. Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kochi, Coimbatore, Indore, Lucknow and more. Coverage is deepest in Bengaluru. See japa maids in Bangalore.
Frequently asked questions
A japa maid is a specialist in post-delivery care for the mother and newborn, usually hired for the first 40 to 90 days after birth. The role covers newborn bathing and oil massage (malish), swaddling, feeding and burping support, sterilising bottles, washing baby clothes, and helping the mother recover, including traditional post-partum foods where the family wants them. It is a different role from a nanny or babysitter, who look after older babies and children.
As a rough guide in India in 2026, a 12-hour day japa maid is around ₹18,000 to ₹25,000 per month and a live-in or 24-hour japa maid ₹25,000 to ₹35,000+, depending on experience, twins, and whether the mother had a caesarean. You agree the amount directly with the japa maid and pay her in full. Sevetu never takes a commission.
Most families in India book a japa maid in the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy, because experienced japa maids are usually committed months ahead. Post your job with your expected delivery date and how many weeks of care you want, and verified japa maids near you can apply.
No. A japa maid specialises in the newborn period and the mother's recovery, and is typically hired for a fixed stretch of weeks. A nanny or babysitter looks after babies and children on an ongoing basis. Some japa maids will stay on as a nanny afterwards. You can agree that directly.
Yes. Post your job with your area (Whitefield, HSR Layout, Koramangala, Indiranagar, Jayanagar, Marathahalli, Sarjapur Road and more) and verified japa maids near you can apply. You review ID-checked profiles and hire directly.
Profiles can be ID-verified with a Verified badge from an identity (KYC) check, and you can review stated experience before you chat. It is an identity check, not a police or medical background check, so please interview and use your own judgement as well.
Most families in India book 40 days, matching the traditional sawa mahina period. 60 days is common for a first baby, and 90 days for twins, a caesarean recovery, or when the mother returns to work early. Agree the start and end dates in writing, including what happens if the baby arrives early or late.
Yes: jaapa maid, japa bai, monthly nurse, confinement nanny, dai and baby massage maid all describe the same post-natal role across different parts of India. The name changes by region; the work does not.
No. A japa maid is trained by experience in newborn and post-natal care, not clinically qualified. If your baby was premature, needs oxygen or feeding support, or your own recovery involves wound care or complications, you need a qualified home nurse instead. Ask your hospital for a referral. Sevetu does not place medical staff.
Often yes. A japa maid looks after the mother and baby, not the house. Many families keep their regular house help for cleaning, dishes and laundry through the japa period, or hire part-time help alongside.
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