Newborn specialists assist in all aspects of newborn care, including feeding, diapering, and keeping the baby clean during the first few months of life. They also share their knowledge to assist parents in creating routines and safe environments for their children. Working overnight is usually required because that is when many parents require the most assistance. While you don’t need any special training to become a newborn specialist, you will need to be very familiar with all aspects of newborn care.
Although they were once referred to as “baby nurses,” newborn specialists are not nurses in the medical sense. To work as a newborn specialist, you don’t need advanced medical training, but a basic first-aid course is a good idea. Look for one that teaches newborn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as well as how to deal with medical emergencies. You can benefit from these courses even if you’ve previously taken adult CPR and life-saving courses; the procedures for dealing with newborns are completely different. Knowing you have the tools to handle an emergency can boost your confidence and give you an advantage when applying for jobs as a newborn specialist.
Although certification is not usually required, you may want to take a few classes before becoming a newborn specialist to ensure that you understand all of the fundamentals of newborn care. There are online courses available, which usually require you to read material and take a proficiency test. These classes are great if you just want to broaden your knowledge, but they may not carry much weight in the field because there is no verification process to ensure that you are the one taking the test. Check with your local community college or vocational career training school to see if they offer classes in newborn care, as most of these institutions issue certificates to students who complete such courses. Training may be available through nanny agencies.
You can either try to market yourself or sign up with an agency once you feel ready to start applying for positions as a newborn specialist. If you want to go it alone, placing an ad in the newspaper or on bulletin boards in areas frequented by pregnant women and new mothers is a good idea. Only post a flyer on a bulletin board if you have permission to do so. If you want someone else to handle your marketing, agencies are a good choice. Once you’ve been accepted into an agency, they’ll assist you in finding work.