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What Is a Maternity Nurse?
For many new parents, a maternity nurse is the best way to properly start parenting. Following the birth, a maternity nurse will take care of mother and baby during those first crucial weeks. Whether your baby is breast- or bottle-fed, she will perform nursery duties and handle all aspects of your baby’s care:
- Looking after your baby
- Cleaning and washing baby items
- Making sure the nursery and feeding equipment are clean and tidy
A maternity nurse must be skilled in caring for and teaching new parents how to care for their newborn baby. She should be supportive, allowing parents time to recover from the birth so that they can be at their best for their baby.

What are the needs of a maternity nurse?
Since a maternity nurse is usually live-in, you will need to provide:
- A room
- Use of a bathroom
- Meals
She will need a private space so she can spend her off-time uninterrupted. You will also be responsible for providing meals and food for your maternity nurse because she will have little time for anything besides your baby.
She is on duty most of the day up to six days a week. This is a tough schedule, so it is important you allow sufficient time for her to rest properly in order that she will be refreshed and able to fully attend to your newborn.
How do I choose a maternity nurse?
When choosing your maternity nurse, her personality plays a huge role in the decision-making process. It is best to start your search early, as many maternity nurses are booked up well in advance.
Make a list of the key attributes you are looking for and questions to ask the prospective maternity nurse. By openly stating your expectations right away, you will soon get a clear idea of who fits best.
While a maternity nurse will carry out standard nursery duties, you should not expect her to care for other children in your home. Her primary responsibility is to care for your newborn and create healthy routines, ensuring both mother and baby are cared for in the early weeks following the birth. Introduce your other children to the maternity nurse, as she will most likely interact with them at some point, and determine clear boundaries.
Even though a maternity nurse is very experienced in caring for mothers and newborns, it is important you also get on well together in order to get the most out of the experience. You will be spending a lot of very special time together, so it is advisable to create a mutual understanding and get to know each other quickly.
Why choose London Governess’ maternity nurses?
At London Governess, we understand how important it is to find that perfect person to help care for your newborn. Our extensive database of candidates and strict vetting procedure ensures your little one is always in the very best of hands.
Our maternity nurses are all nannies who are UK trained to a high level with extensive experience in newborn care. With London Governess’ bespoke maternity nurse placement service, your child will receive the unwavering care of an experienced maternity nurse who is educated, a fluent English speaker, and fully qualified with excellent references.
We provide families with the perfect blend of experience, knowledge, valid references, strong British education, and warm personality. At London Governess, you will be able to search for and select the ideal maternity nurse for you. We can guarantee the following:
- We meet each nurse in person to verify their working history, check references, and to carry out enhanced DBS checks.
- London Governess maternity nurses have considerable experience and can offer you some great advice. Some bring specific areas of expertise including breastfeeding and caring for twins and premature babies, so they can cater specifically to your requirements.
- You can choose how involved your maternity nurse needs to be. She can be more involved during the day and on call at night. Working hours are flexible so you can catch up on much-needed sleep, then take over during the day.
- London Governess maternity nurses can also be temporary. They can work 24 hours, or 12-hour shifts (7am-7pm or 7pm-7am). They can stay with you for one week or for six months – it is completely up to you.
Some clients require a maternity nurse to take over every aspect of looking after their baby. All of our nurses are capable of handling this level of responsibility. If you need a complete rest, you can arrange for any specific duties to be covered by your maternity nurse.
If you have twins or more than one baby, your nurse will help to settle them into a natural, easy routine enabling you to spend plenty of one-on-one time with each child. It is not just nights made easy, either – as your maternity nurse is self-employed, she will pay her own tax and national insurance, allowing you to focus on what really matters.
Temporary Maternity Nurse
Having a baby is an exciting and wonderful experience, but also very tiring since the baby will likely wake up several times a night. A short-term private maternity nurse will stay in your home and provide calm, caring, and efficient services to assist you with all of your baby’s needs.
She will answer any questions the mother may have about caring for her newborn, give the mother time to recuperate, provide expert breastfeeding advice, and help establish the baby’s sleeping schedule.
All of our maternity nurses have vast childcare experience and can help with day-to-day tasks including preparing the nursery, bottle sterilisation, nappy changing, bathing the baby, and washing the baby’s clothes.
Typically, a short-term private maternity nurse will stay at your home 24-hours per day for 5-7 days a week for up to twelve weeks, but this can be tailored to your specific needs and family situation. Alternatively, you can choose to hire a maternity nurse who will work for eight-hour shifts or longer on a live-out basis.
Duties & Fees
We recommend that all nurses are hired using our advanced booking system. All information regarding salaries is a guideline and may vary according to age, experience and location. All of our maternity nurses are self-employed, but are carefully selected for representation by our agency.
Maternity nurses cost from £200+ per 24 hours.
When you choose to hire a maternity nurse, you ensure the best available care for your newborn and yourself with around-the-clock assistance. Your maternity nurse will be on hand right after the birth to ensure that child-rearing is as rewarding as possible while minimising exhaustion or stress. You will also be fully supported with your maternity nurse offering postnatal care, breastfeeding advice, and general support as a professional ally.
Hire a London Governess maternity nurse
Hiring a London Governess maternity nurse comes with many advantages:
- You will find establishing a feeding routine easier; including breastfeeding
- All bottles will always be sterilised
- Your baby will be safe at all times
- You will learn necessary hygiene practices
- You will easily overcome some of motherhood’s challenges, such as night-time feeding and bonding
London Governess’ maternity nurses know all of the cues and tricks of raising a newborn, enabling you to share more enjoyable time together.
Please complete this form and we will contact you to discuss your individual requirements. We will then provide a selection of top quality candidates to choose from, and discuss with you your preferred interview arrangements.
Our office is open Monday to Sunday (8.30am-6.30pm).
Call us: +44 20 8798 0466 or +44 7740 462 463