What is a Newborn Care Specialist?

"A Newborn Care Specialist is an individual trained and skilled in newborn care. She provides unique expertise in all aspects of newborn care, parental education and support. Her job is to help nurture and care for newborns while providing guidance and education for the parents.

*What services does a Newborn Care Specialist provide?

The primary role of a Newborn Care Specialist is to provide assistance and education after the parents bring the baby home from the hospital. Many times this help will include scheduling, feeding, sleep training, help with breast feeding and more.

Newborn Care Specialists will generally work night shifts managing the baby's care while the parents sleep restfully. When the baby wakes up, the Newborn Care Specialist feeds by bottle or brings the baby to the mom for nursing. After feeding, the baby is burped and changed and put back to bed.

During the daytime a Newborn Care Specialist will provide similar care and also strive to create a nurturing and stimulating environment for the baby during waking hours. Both day and night Newborn Care Specialists document the baby's patterns and keep a log of sleeping, feeding and changing times to assist in transitioning the baby to a regular schedule.

Newborn Care Specialists are generally not responsible for household duties unrelated to the new baby or for the care of other children in the household.

*What are the general duties of a NCS?

-A Newborn Care Specialist will typically perform the following duties:

-Educate and support parents.

-Create a smooth transition for family during the newborn stage.

-Troubleshoot potential issues of concern with the newborn and offer professional options to resolve them.

-Maintain a thorough log of infant feeding and sleep patterns.

-Assist mother with any feeding issues she may have, including the facilitation of breastfeeding and be knowledgeable in answering breastfeeding related questions.

-Soothes babies using skilled and proven techniques that help calm newborns.

-To provide care for the newborn and perform some or all of the following tasks:

-Diapering

-Changing

-Bathing

-Circumcision Care

-Bottle Preparation (Breastmilk & Formula)

-Bottle Cleaning

-Organization & Maintenance of Nursery

-Create a regular feeding schedule

-Assist in establishing healthy sleep habits

-Maintain a thorough log of eating, sleeping and behavioral patterns