A Newborn Care Specialist (NCS) is a care professional with a unique combination of specialized skills and advanced education to provide expert care for infants as well as education for parents.  Most NCS tend to be sleep based, having advanced expertise on sleep conditioning, the act of creating healthy sleep habits from day one and encouraging independent sleep.  Typically, an NCS will work with a family for the first 0-12 weeks of a child’s life, but some are open to continuing care for extended periods beyond the three-month mark.  An NCS may offer consultations, over-night sleep conditioning support, day-time newborn care and education, or 24/7 travel support.  An NCS often works with a goal of establishing a day-time routine that works for your baby and your family while also helping your baby learn to sleep through the night (7:00pm-7:00am) by approximately 12 weeks old.  A Newborn Care Specialist provides you with information on the most effective techniques to care for your baby that follow the latest recommendations from the American of Pediatrics (AAP), Center for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and many other professional health organizations .

All NCSs are trained and experienced in a variety of topics including but not limited to common issues and ailments that newborns may experience such as reflux/GERD, caring for multiples, sleep-conditioning and sleep-training, developmental milestones, postpartum recovery issues, breastfeeding and preemie care.  As such, an NCS is properly equipped to address a myriad of problems and situations that may arise within the first few months of your baby’s life.

An NCS may also offer services to assist in building your registry and ordering baby gears, setting up your nursery, writing custom sleep plans and daily schedules as your baby’s routine changes, and travel support.

An NCS takes pride in providing you the peace of mind you need to get a great night’s sleep and answers to all your questions.

HOW IS A NEWBORN CARE SPECIALIST DIFFERENT FROM A NANNY, NIGHT NANNY OR DOULA?

While Newborn Care Specialists, postpartum doulas, nanny, and night nannies are all able to provide families with excellent services, there are some fundamental differences between each type of care professional. We believe it is important to understand some of these differences so you can make the right decision in finding the support that is right for your family’s need and goals.

Aside from an NCS, a Postpartum Doula is another support option for your growing family. While Postpartum Doulas do often care for newborns, their main goal tends to be nurturing the birthing parent and providing services that pertain to the healing of the parent and care for the family as a whole.  A doula’s training and expertise centers around the birthing parent and all aspects of labor, delivery, postpartum recovery, parent/child bonding, and adjusting to caring for their little one.  While a doula does provide newborn care while a parent rests, their focus is generally on the family as a whole and following the parent’s lead.  A doula may offer services that include parental massage, new sibling support, cooking for the parents or family, and household support.

Generally speaking, a doula’s focus is on supporting the parents’ recovery, family bonding, and following the parents’ lead in routine and goals while being family centered.  An NCS’s focus is more often on parental education, direct newborn care, and creating/implementing a routine and sleep/feeding schedule that fosters healthy development and sleep habits and that sets family up for nap and overnight sleep scheduling into the future.

Nannies or night nannies are another care option.  Nannies generally follow the instruction of the parents, whereas an NCS assess the parent’s goals and creates a plan to meet those goals.  While most nannies will have abundance of experience with children of varying ages, an NCS is an expert in newborns and infants specifically.  Additionally, there are no set training requirements necessary to work as a nanny which is not the case for a Newborn Care Specialist or Postpartum Doula