While becoming parents is an extremely happy moment in any couple’s life, it can also be overwhelming, and many families expect it to be a busy and exhausting time. That is when they decide to reach out for professional help.

Today, Bumpkyn's Karolina Lewis is speaking to Sarajane Ambrose from Maternally Yours, an agency with a world-wide client base, making a real difference for new parents for more than two decades.

What is a Maternity Nurse?

Maternity Nurses are specialist professionals dedicated to the care of newborn babies and post partum mothers. 

Maternity Nurses tend to live-in with families, and are on-call 24 hours a day, for 5 or 6 consecutive days for two to twelve or even up to 24 weeks.

Being such a niche field, our Maternity Nurses have years of invaluable experience and expertise, and are often described as walking text books on all matters newborn.Our Maternity Nurses enable new mothers to rest and recover from birth, and empower parents by teaching/guiding them how to look after their new baby which they then do with confidence. To give you an idea of the of the scope of a Maternity Nurse's role, we've set out the main areas of responsibility:

KL : Why is it important to consider hiring a maternity nurse quite early on, or even when you first find out you are pregnant?

SJA : Our most frequently booked Maternity Nurses tend to get snapped up quite early in our clients’ pregnancies, either by families expecting second or subsequent babies who are re-booking their favourite Maternity Nurse, or due to the popularity of longer bookings of up to 12 weeks.

That being said, we have an extensive Register of Maternity Nurses, all of whom we know personally.We consider each and every Maternity Nurse on our Register to be a leading newborn baby expert, and we are used to placing our Maternity Nurses at any stage of pregnancy – even last minute when baby has arrived. 

It’s important to remember that Maternity Nurses look after new mothers as well as newborns, allowing for rest and recovery from the birth.

KL : What calibre nurses can parents-to-be expect to interview through Maternally Yours?

SJA : We scrupulously screen and continually monitor every single Maternity Nurse we work with, and personally meet every single applicant who is accepted onto our Register. We represent the most experienced, qualified, reliable and trust-worthy professionals in the industry. 

We pride ourselves on the exceptional calibre of our Maternity Nurses, giving our clients peace of mind that they and their babies are being cared for by the very best and most discreet professionals available.

Our selection methods have set the bar for the industry for more than two decades, and we strive to provide the best Maternity Nurse for every unique family. 

KL : Parents often underestimate the amount of change in their lives in the weeks right after the birth, how can a maternity nurse make things easier?

SJA : Those first few weeks for new parents can be simply magical. That is if the new parents are confident with baby’s feeding and sleeping routine to ensure correct weight gain, milk production is established and they have mastered how to wind, and they are getting enough sleep, it is a joy and all-empowering.

But of course this is rarely the case - what if this is their first baby, or an addition to the family and they do not have parents or in-laws for support or the perfect scenario painted above isn’t a reality?

What is supposed to come so naturally can in reality be daunting and overwhelming, and it is not until the new parents arrive home that they can feel so ‘untrained’ for the role.This is where our Maternity Nurses come into their own.

By booking a Maternity Nurse to help during the first few weeks, new parents will feel relaxed and well cared for, and can rest assured that their baby’s needs will be met in every way, leaving them calm and confident, with a manageable routine for both them and their baby.

It should also be stressed that it is this routine that, when established from the very beginning, lays the foundation for effective sleeping habits that are maintained throughout their child’s growth and development and we all understand how crucial good sleeping habits are.

Our experienced Maternity Nurses care for new mothers as well as babies, to ensure that new parents are empowered to confidently care for their new additions.

KL : New Mums need more rest than they think. It is often the lack of sleep that hits hard in the initial stages and makes things hard to manage. On the other hand, the importance of baby sleep training seems a very hot topic at the moment, and it seems key to achieving the right balance for both. Can a maternity nurse be of help here?

SJA : If there’s one thing that our clients are thankful for, it’s the rest and respite a Maternity Nurse is able to offer; whether you are breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, having a professional on-hand to care for your baby means new mothers can sleep as long as possible.If you are breast-feeding, a Maternity Nurse can change, wind and settle your baby as soon as the night feed is over, and if you are bottle-feeding, it is likely that you will sleep through the night as soon as your Maternity Nurse arrives.

As far as setting a sleep routine is concerned, every family is different and our Maternity Nurses work in partnership with you. We recommend discussing your preferences at interview to gauge which Maternity Nurse will suit your style of parenting.If you aren’t yet sure, choose someone with a flexible approach.

KL : Once the couple feel there is more of a routine and things are less hectic, is it possible to reduce the amount of help or focus on one aspect of care only, for example nights only?

SJA : That’s a very good question.

We often work with clients who wish to start with the 24 hour service for up to 8 weeks, then change to the Nights-Only option for a further 4+ weeks. However, if at the beginning the family booked the 24 hour service throughout say a 12 week booking but decided after 6 weeks that for the remainder they would like to change to Nights Only with the same Maternity Nurse, her ability to fulfil this would depend on where she lived as she would change from living in to living out.

If, at the beginning, the family are aware that they may wish to explore this option, we would look at the client’s location and focus on Maternity Nurses who live nearby for them to easily reach the family home.

We also assist families who book Nights-Only Maternity Nurse from the start; that being said, our recommendation is that parents-to-be start with Live-in help for at least 24/5 (5 days a week) for the first 2-4 weeks, as this is the most intense time post-partum.

KL : At times parents require maternity nurse care while travelling, do Maternally Yours nurses travel with their families so that care can continue?

SJA : Many of our Maternity Nurses have travelled with their families during the course of their career and are well accustomed to all that it entails. They are able to assist with or take full responsibility for the planning and packing for babywhich can be an enormous help to new parents.. Any plans for travel should be discussed at the interview stage. 

We have worked with many parents who have been so happy with their Maternity Nurse that they have managed to get away for a weekend, or even a week, without baby - so there are many options for parents to consider.Similarly, there have been many instances when families have rebooked a Maternity Nurse when baby is a few months old so that parents can travel without their baby, safe in the knowledge that baby is being cared for in the comfort of their home.

We would always recommend that clients discuss travel, or even any possible travel, at the interview stage to ensure their preferred Maternity Nurse’s availability.

Once your baby reaches 12 weeks, you may like to consider contacting our sister agency Imperial Nannies, specialists in placing the very best Nannies for babies over the age of three months since 1996.

http://www.maternallyyours.co.uk

www.imperialnannies.co.uk

0207 795 6299