Maternity Nurse
A maternity nurse assists a family with the care of a new-born baby, usually, for up to four weeks after the birth.
Qualifications. There are no formal maternity nurse qualifications. Many are midwives, while others are registered nurses, often with additional paediatric skills. Some may have a nanny or childcare qualification. Others have no formal qualification but are very experienced in caring for new-born babies – either through previous positions or because they have had children of their own.
Duties. These include all aspects of the baby’s care: bathing, nappy changing, feeding (if mother is not breast feeding) and laundry, as well as cleaning and tidying the baby’s bedroom or nursery.
A key part of the nurse’s duty is to care for the baby so that mum is sure to get sufficient rest, bringing baby to her if a feed is required. This means they must be available round the clock, so will expect to sleep whenever they can – usually when baby is sleeping.
If baby sleeps in their own bedroom then the nurse will usually share that room at night.
Conditions. Unlike nannies, maternity nurses are almost always self-employed and will therefore expect to be paid gross. They will normally work six days on and one day off, but their precise hours and terms will be by negotiation between employer and maternity nurse before the placement commences.
