Why Hire a Newborn Care Specialist (NCS)?
Navigating welcoming a new baby into your family can feel intimidating and overwhelming. It takes preparation, planning, and a village. A Newborn Care Specialist is a key part of that village.
A Newborn Care Specialist is a person trained and experienced in all things related to newborns. From feeding and sleep schedules to diaper changes and overall baby care, they are an expert. The support that a Newborn Care Specialist provides can help ease the physical burdens of caring for a baby postpartum. This helps mothers heal more comfortably after birth, whether that be a cesarean or vaginal birth. They also provide educational support that helps parents understand their baby’s cues, support their baby in a good schedule and routine, and complete tasks such as soothing, diaper changing, and feeding the baby in an effective and safe way. Many Newborn Care Specialists have additional education in infant sleep. They may work an overnight shift to help parents get more rest and promote safe, biologically normal sleep in the baby. This can lead to a baby sleeping through the night earlier and parents feeling less anxious or tired.
This support is slightly different from what a postpartum doula offers. The main difference is the individual the caretaker focuses on. A Newborn Care Specialist is there to care for the newborn and provide guidance to new parents, but a postpartum doula is more focused on caring for the mother. Postpartum doulas also tend to provide a more holistic form of care. You can read more about the differences here.
Newborn Care Specialists are educated in:
General Newborn Care
Swaddling
Lactation Education
Feeding
Soothing-Sleep Conditioning
House Related Tasks/Cleaning/Prepping
Multiples Care
Preemie Care
Business Building
Newborn Parent Education
What exactly do they do?
Bathing, diapering, and bottle preparation for the baby
Feeding
Sleep support
Education for parents
Soothing techniques
House/nursery cleaning and organization
Baby related chores
Care for the newborn at night while parents sleep
What are the benefits?
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder (PMAD) Support
Newborn Care Specialists can provide emotional, educational, and physical support that helps parents ease their stresses, reduce anxiety, and optimize sleep. This leads to better perinatal mental health outcomes for both moms and dads. A Newborn Care Specialist may make a referral to outside resources if they notice signs of PMADs in a client.
Lactation Support
Many Newborn Care Specialists have additional certifications in lactation counseling. A Newborn Care Specialist is typically knowledgeable on infant feeding approaches and guidelines. From offering tips and advice on proper latching to helping mothers with milk production, they can be priceless resources for nursing parents. They may assist with setting up a breastfeeding schedule and provide support during feedings. If a parent is pumping the Newborn Care Specialist can clean and sterilize pump parts of bottles in between feedings and pumping sessions. They can also help organize, label, and store milk.
Sleep Support
One of the major reasons many parents hire newborn care specialists is to get some much-needed help with sleep deprivation. Newborns have a tendency to wake up every few hours to eat, which can leave parents feeling exhausted. A Newborn Care Specialist can soothe the baby in between feedings while parents rest or even offer a bottle and handle cleaning bottles and pump parts in the night so that parents can get even more sleep. The type of support offered during nighttime feedings will differ from family to family. A Newborn Care Specialist will meet you where you are at and help you achieve your feeding and sleep goals in a way that works well for your family.
Sibling Support
A Newborn Care Specialist can help ease the transition of a new sibling in the household by caring for the baby while a parent has one-on-one time with the older children. Alternatively, the Newborn Care Specialist might hang with the older children and do an activity that makes them feel valued and special such as a craft, game, or field trip to a local spot like a library or park. This differs from Newborn Care Specialist to Newborn Care Specialist. Some may have a more baby-focused approach, but it is worth discussing when you meet with a Newborn Care Specialist for the first time if this is a goal for your family.
Newborn Care Education
A Newborn Care Specialist provides expertise in all aspects of newborn care, parental education, and support. They care for the newborns while providing guidance and education to the parents. They inform you of your options and choices. They do not make choices for you but rather empower you to come to the decisions that feel right for you.
Household Management
One of the main goals of a Newborn Care Specialist is to make the home environment a safe and comfortable place for the baby and family. They may do this by creating a baby-friendly space, stocking the nursery with essential items, and setting up a feeding and sleeping schedule. With all the changes and unfamiliar challenges, establishing a routine or any kind of schedule right after giving birth can be difficult for new parents. A Newborn Care Specialist may provide education around this or help to physically implement the routine during their time with a family.
Qualified Support
Newborn Care Specialists are more qualified than nannies or babysitters. They undergo specialized training that covers newborn care, infant sleep, the physical and emotional needs of infants, safety, health and nutrition, and much more. This helps them provide confident, comprehensive support for new parents. They are able to answer questions and provide support that empowers parents to care for their babies. They bridge the gap of having questions, but not really needing a pediatrician for those questions. Dr.Google can be a rabbit hole of anxiety for new parents, but having a Newborn Care Specialist who is knowledgeable and qualified helps parents avoid mommy forums and stress-inducing articles.
Whether you are looking for a break midday so that you can catch a quick nap, devote some time to mastering your pump, and enjoy a nice long shower uninterrupted or you are dreaming of better nighttime sleep with a newborn care specialist by your side, a Newborn Care Specialist can support you. A Newborn Care Specialist is a key part of that village. A Newborn Care Specialist is a person trained and experienced in all things related to newborns From feeding and sleep schedules to diaper changes and overall baby care, they are an expert. The support that a Newborn Care Specialist provides can help ease the physical burdens of caring for a baby postpartum.
At Louisville Newborn Care, we service all of Louisville and surrounding areas, offering day and nighttime care. Our team is staffed with highly knowledgeable and experienced newborn care providers who are ready to work alongside you in developing a care plan for your newborn. We want you to feel empowered and knowledgeable in caring for your baby!
At night, we will provide you with sleep tips, feeding support, education on understanding your baby’s cues, and informational support that will help you through the daytime as well as the nights we are not there. We want you to wake up after a night with Louisville Newborn Care feeling ready for the day. You deserve to be present with your baby and not burdened by a lack of sleep or a long list of baby-related tasks.
