Maternity Nurses are employed to care for the new born baby (or babies if it is a multiple birth!) and need to arrive when the Mother arrives home from the hospital – days before would be even better!
The best Maternity Nurses know how to:
Assimilate themselves into new households easily
Provide support, guidance and an extra pair of hands, during the first few weeks
Establish feeding and sleeping routines
Allow the Mother to spend extra time with the older children
Be paid and sort out their own tax and National Insurance
Occasionally are happy to do anything else, from looking after older children, cooking the family dinner to walking the dog!
Parents employ Maternity Nurses to care for their new-born baby. The Maternity Nurse generally starts when the Mother arrives home from hospital, but often they need to be booked 6 months in advance. The best Maternity Nurses know how to assimilate themselves into a household smoothly. Maternity Nurses are employed for support, guidance and an extra pair of hands for those first apprehensive but exciting few weeks. They concentrate on establishing sleeping and feeding routines. Nurses normally take a strong role during the night, as they work continuously for 6 days (resting when baby rests) and with the following 24 hours off. This gives the Mother an opportunity to get some rest and fully recuperate. There are many different routines to establish and the Nurse will discuss the best ones to suit the family and help them make an easy transition. Maternity Nurses also liberate that extra time for Mum to spend with the other children, helping everyone through the adjustment period of an extra brother or sister arriving in the family.
Maternity Nurses come from a range of different training and although some have nursing backgrounds, they are not employed on this basis and should not be expected to carry out the role of a medically trained nurse.
Short courses available cover aspects such as breast-feeding, reflux problems and establishing routines to name a few. A large number of Maternity Nurses started as Nannies, so would normally have completed a 2 year course covering childcare from 0 – 7 years, and then they go on to specialise in tiny babies. This can have its benefits, as they can be flexible and also have the sensitivity and relevant experience to look after older siblings too!
Maternity Nurses have individual approaches to their work and it is important, when selecting the best one for your needs, to establish whether they will only look after the new-born, or if they are happy to do anything else, from cooking the family dinner to walking the dog! Certainly we find that the demand for Maternity Nurses is high and it is advisable to book them well in advance of the baby’s birth! Maternity Nurses are self-employed and get paid a gross salary.
We have an excellent consultant, Lucy Thurmott, who is in charge of placing all Maternity Nurses. If you want to talk to Lucy about employing a Maternity Nurse, do give her a call to discuss it with her.
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