As a Newborn Care Specialist, people often refer to me as a baby nurse or a night nurse. But in actuality, I’m neither. So I wanted to give you the low down on what each of them are, and then what services they best provide.
The Newborn Care Specialist
A Newborn Care Specialist is a non-medical person who specializes in newborn care. They assist parents in their homes for a few weeks to months after returning from the hospital. They provide support and education to the parents and often sleep train babies before leaving the family’s home. A Newborn Care Specialist can also provide you support in feeding (breast or bottle), circumcision, umbilical cord care, swaddling, and other baby-related areas.
The Night Nurse
A night nurse is generally going to be an RN or Peds RN who works with a family in their home to care for their newborn or young child. Their background is only medical and they generally do not have any sleep training knowledge.
So, if your baby has continuous medical needs once they leave the hospital, a night nurse may be a great option for you. Will set up and follow a schedule but many are not sleep consultants.
The Baby Nurse
This is where things begin to get a little confusing. There are two types of baby nurses.
The first type of baby nurse is a Pediatric nurse who also comes into a family home to help care for a newborn. They are medically trained but they generally do not have any sleep training knowledge. They will be able to keep a basic schedule but do not establish healthy sleep habits.
The second type of baby nurse is a woman who has been trained in all things baby. Much like the Newborn Care Specialist, she can and will work with your baby to establish healthy sleep habits, work on an age-appropriate schedule, and tend to all other needs of your baby at night or on a 24/7 basis.
There you have it. I hope that clears up the differences a bit for you.
Before I go, I’d love to hear if you have the privilege of hiring any one of these professionals listed above. Was their services helpful to you? If so, what was your favorite thing about having them help you?
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