Liu Shuo, a highly-educated young maternity matron, shows her baby care skills during a maternity matron skill competition in Weihai of east China's Shandong province on Sunday, September 25, 2016. [Photo: Weihai Evening News]

Highly-educated young maternity nannies are gaining increased popularity for new mothers in China, both for their novel baby education ideas, and similar interests and hobbies to young mothers, dzwww.com reports.

Liu Shuo, a maternity nanny from Weihai City in east China's Shandong Province, won the top prize of the city's first maternity nanny skill competition on Sunday.

Born in the 1980's, Liu received maternity training two years ago because she wanted to be prepared for when she has her own baby, but she decided to become a maternity nanny afterwards.

Liu got her master's degree abroad in a different discipline. Her decision to become a maternity nanny was not accepted by her family at first. "They only began to understand as I make progress in my work," she said.

Liu's salary now exceeds 10,000 yuan (around 1,500 US dollars), after earning 5,000 yuan in the first month.

More and more young people have joined the maternity nanny market over the last three years, and especially after China changed its one-child policy this year, allowing all couples to have two children.

Ma Xiujuan, a headmaster of a vocational school in Weihai City, says among the 500 maternity nannies registered at the school, young people born after 1980 make up 30 percent. "Compared to maternity nannies in their 40s or 50s, young people are more desirable and their salaries are higher. Many young mothers especially request young maternity nannies. Some young maternity nannies are even booked out until next year," she said.

Ma added that older maternity nannies were popular because of their experience, but now young people also have their own market. Young maternity nannies learn new things quickly, their baby education ideas are advanced, and they can communicate with customers more smoothly, she said.