Types of Newborn Overnight Care
Newborn Overnight Care:
4 Options
Navigating your way through the newborn stage can be exhausting.Baby’s sleep and feeding schedule are all over the place.Even sharing the night shifts with a partner still doesn’t provide the rest most parents need to feel refreshed for the days.It doesn’t take long before the sleep deprivation catches up to you.
Enter the overnight care specialists…
There are services that allow parents to get rest during the night while ensuring that their newborn is getting the best of care. There are many terms you will hear regarding infant overnight care. The most common terms used are:
Night Nanny
Postpartum (Night) Doula
Newborn Care Specialist
Baby Nurse
All these terms are used interchangeably, yet are very different in terms of training and services offered. Below we break them down to help you decide which service would be the best fit for your overnight care needs.
Night Nanny
Night nannies do not generally have formal training in newborn care, lactation, or infant sleep and offer more of a babysitting service. They are caregivers who work at night under the direction of the parents. Parents leave detailed instructions on how care should be given to the newborn(s) during the night. The night nanny follows the directions and asks the parents if anything is unclear throughout the night. Night nannies generally provide night services for newborns from birth through the first year. Nannies are considered household employees and need to be paid accordingly. They also do not carry liability insurance.
Postpartum Overnight Doula
A postpartum overnight doula is a professionally trained and experienced caregiver. They are well educated on the newborn(s) and issues that a mother and family face postpartum. Postpartum overnight doulas will provide evidence-based information for the postpartum family on various issues, including postpartum healing, infant care, nursing support, and birthing person care. The postpartum overnight doula is able to provide not only overnight services for the newborn(s) but can also assist the family with nursing & pumping throughout the night while helping to instill healthy sleep habits in the newborn. The overnight doula provides suggestions, mentoring, and support to the family. Postpartum doulas work days or nights and stay with families for up to five months. They work on a contract basis, and their services are eligible for FSA/HSA coverage and coverage from some employee benefit programs. Postpartum overnight doulas can carry liability coverage specifically for their profession.
Newborn Care Specialists (NCS)
A newborn care specialist has received specialized training in newborn care and has extensive newborn experience. The NCS does not need to work under a parent's direction, yet can mentor and educate the parent on infant care. Generally, newborn care specialists are with families for up to a year and work nights, with some offering 24/7 shifts. NCSs are not eligible for FSA/HSA coverage and cannot obtain liability insurance at this time.
Baby Nurse
While many people use the term ‘Baby Nurse’ to describe an overnight care provider, a true baby nurse refers to a Registered Nurse (RN) with extensive newborn experience. A baby nurse provides all the services of a newborn care specialist but is also familiar with medical terminology and issues. While an NCS or Postpartum Overnight Doulas cannot perform medical tasks, a true Baby Nurse who is an RN/LPN can and is generally used by families that have infants with health issues that need specialized care from birth through the first 6 months (and some beyond). Some services may be covered by health insurance.
When searching for overnight care for your newborn, it’s important to do your research and find the best overnight provider that fits your needs. As you can see, not all overnight care is the same!
At Nurtured Foundation, our overnight doulas are professionally trained postpartum doulas and newborn care specialists. All doulas are background checked, CPR certified, and have carry liability insurance. We also accept FSA/HSAs.
We believe in providing the best services for our clients and, therefore, have trained in multiple areas to ensure comprehensive care for you and your newborn(s). Our overnight doulas are hand-selected by each family. A perfect fit is key!
You can be confident that not only will your baby be taken care of through the night, but we will also:
instill healthy sleep habits & schedules
provide a wealth of evidence-based information
answering all your questions related to the baby, parents, and the family transition
access to our extensive list of resources throughout the greater Cleveland area
the collective experience of an experienced team of doulas that work together to support each other and their clients
teach you our tips & tricks for getting baby to sleep better and longer
get you well rested
make sure you wake up to clean bottles & pumping parts
work our way right out of the job by giving you the best start
Additional information on our overnight services or sleep training for older infants can be found in the highlighted links.