Fundamentally, Maternity Nurses are there to provide, support, assistance and guidance to a mother following a birth. Each maternity nurse and the family who has hired her will work out the exact role that she will fulfil following the birth of a baby. This will entail assisting and sitting with Mum with the night feeds if breastfeeding, as well as bathing, dressing and otherwise caring for the baby.
Maternity nurses can be a great comfort to mothers who do not have family close by to help them, and to mothers have just brought home multiples and need extra assistance. However, maternity nurses are not housekeepers or personal assistants and should not be treated as such. Though maternity nurses will deal with a baby’s laundry, nappies and bottles, they are not employed to clean for the whole family. Although not directly employed to look after older siblings many Maternity Nurses will assist with siblings if needed however this should be agreed between the client and the Nurse beforehand. Some maternity nurses may make meals for a mother who is recovering from birth but they should not as a general rule be expected to cook for the entire family as well.
