Why a Postpartum Doula or NCS is Your Solution
Bringing home a new baby is filled with excitement and happiness, but the daily routine of feeding, changing, and nurturing every 2 hours around the clock can be exhausting! Add postpartum healing and learning to feed your baby, whether breast/chest or bottle, and the exhaustion can quickly lead to overwhelm. What is a new parent to do?!
A Night Nurse to the rescue!
But not so fast… let’s talk about what they are and why a postpartum doula or newborn care specialist (NCS) is what you really want.
Not a Nurse
When trying to get some sleep, many families search for the help of a night nurse or baby nurse to come in for the overnight hours. But it is important to note that night nurse and baby nurse are outdated terms, and these professionals are typically NOT nurses. In some states, these terms are even illegal. Only those individuals with an RN, LPN, or LVN degree can refer to themselves as nurses.
Newborn Care Specialists and Postpartum and Infant Care Doulas are the new terms to refer to these professionals. But because there is no regulation, finding qualified people to care for your newborn overnight can be tricky.
What to Look For
There is currently no regulation of NCS or postpartum doulas in the United States. Therefore it’s extremely important to find individuals that are trained and certified through an accredited third-party oversight organization. Some things you can do are:
- Look for credentials- the quality of training organizations varies greatly. Do a little research in this area.
- Make sure they have life-saving skills- ask if they have infant CPR training at a minimum
- Check References- non-relative experience with newborns is important
- Background checks- federal law requires it of people working with children in businesses– it should be equally important to people you bring into your home.
What to Expect
Your postpartum doula or NCS is there so you can sleep! Their primary role overnight will be to care for your baby. They will feed the baby if bottle fed or bring the baby to you if breast/chestfeeding. They will ensure your baby is clean and dry and help them get back to sleep. Your NCS/postpartum doula will help you find routines and strategies to promote independent sleep. If the baby is sleeping and time allows, your overnight doula will wash baby bottles and/or pump parts, fold baby laundry, and restock the changing station.
And while folded laundry and clean dishes are a nice perk, the greatest benefit to you is SLEEP.
What are the Benefits?
Getting good sleep is going to help postpartum recovery.
- It can lower the risk of postpartum depression and anxiety.
- It can promote postpartum healing
- It can increase human milk supply.
- It can promote relaxation and harmony with your partner
- It can increase productivity at work
- It can allow you to better parent other children
- It can improve your overall quality of life
Of course, anything of value comes with a cost.
Is It Worth It?
You can expect to pay $25 per hour on the low end and up to $80 per hour in some major
US cities. The average cost in Orlando, FL, is $35-$45.
With so many benefits and the peace of mind of having a trained professional right there with you to answer questions as you transition home with your little one, the focus should be on how you can budget for this invaluable service. You can read more about it here. https://www.nbcnews.com/better/pop-culture/what-night-nanny-can-you-afford-hire-one-ncna904871
Let Us Help
These tiny little people sure are precious, but they can turn your world upside down for a while with their schedule of sleep, eat, change, snuggle and repeat. And while this new baby experience is new to you, our familiarity with it makes it second nature to us. We have helped hundreds of families find their footing during this special time, and we can help yours too. You don’t have to do it alone. Call on the experts at Orlando Doulas LLC.
References
How does newborn care specialist and postpartum doula differ from nanny?
Training is typically the biggest difference. Many Nannies have experience but no real training. Most postpartum doulas and newborn care specialists attend accredited training. Postpartum doulas and newborn care specialists also keep an up-to-date infant cpr certification in order to be in compliance with the guidelines of their training organizations.
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Thanks. I love to learn and to inform.