Categories
Quick Enquiry Form
Maternity Services F.A.Q’s
What is a Maternity Nurse?
A maternity nurse is an experienced infant care provider who usually lives with a family and provides 24 hour on-call service after the birth of a baby. A maternity nurse usually works for five or six days per week, though individual arrangements may also be made by a private family and their maternity nurse. In some cases maternity nurses may consider themselves day nurses, in which case they would only be available to assist a family during the day, and others consider themselves night nurses and would work mostly at nights. Despite the name a maternity nurse is not necessarily a State Registered Nurse, midwife or health visitor though many maternity nurses have had one of these past careers.
What qualifications do Deearna’s Maternity Nurses Have?
Qualifications and experience will vary between Nurses and this is often reflected in their fees. However as a minimum, all of Deearna’s registered Nurses will have at least passed the MNT training course (or equivalent), hold an up-to-date, recognised First Aid qualification and will have undergone an enhanced Criminal Record Check (CRB). Additionally, all recent client references for each nurse are thoroughly checked and prospective clients are encouraged to contact these references personally as part of their nurse selection process. All of Deearna’s registered Nurses and Baby-care specialists are encouraged to obtain public liability insurance however this is the choice of the individual nurse.
What duties will a Maternity Nurse do?
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.
Where does a Maternity Nurse live?
Unless they are only day nurses or only night nurses, maternity nurses live with a family while they are employed by them. Maternity nurses usually sleep in the same room as the baby so that they are available for night time bottle feeds, to bring babies to mothers for night breast feeds and to soothe babies and get them into a routine. While maternity nurses may relax in the family’s home during her day off, the fact that she is not working and off duty should be respected.
What are the booking arrangements and fees?
All Maternity Nurses will generally work for 5 nights during the week (6 nights by special arrangement) and go home at weekends or take time-off at the client’s home. If weekend cover is desired we can provide the client with a second maternity nurse to cover this time. Bookings can range from a single week to several months depending on individual Client needs. It is strongly recommended that Maternity Nurses are required to have a break of 1-2 days between each 5-6 day engagement.
All of our Maternity Nurses are Self-Employed and will have their own contracts that they enter into with clients. As maternity nurses are usually booked in advance, they will require a deposit to secure. The deposit amount will vary between Nurses and will also be determined on the service they are secured for. Maternity Nurses are often paid on a weekly basis. Experienced Maternity Nurses can expect to receive upwards of £700 per week, and the very best are often paid £1200/week and upwards.
How do I book a Deearna’s Maternity Nurse?
Firstly, please either submit a confidential enquiry via the “Contact Us” page, or call Deearna direct for a friendly, informal discussion. After this initial consultation, Deearna will then match the best nurses for the role to the specific client requirements. We will then submit the appropriate CV’s to the client, from which the client can then select those Nurses that they would like to personally interview.
