Maternity & Night Nurse Service

Professional Maternity Nurse Agency

Medically trained maternity specialists with deep expertise in newborn care and postpartum recovery. Our night nurses provide dedicated professional support, enabling parents to rest while knowing their newborn is in expert hands.

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Quick answer

A maternity nurse is a qualified postnatal specialist placed with families for the first weeks of a newborn's life, typically 4 to 12 weeks. Lumière maternity nurses are NNEB MNT, NCS or Norland-trained, with paediatric CPR and lactation-consultant credentials. They cover all overnight care, establish sleep routines and support feeding.

Our Service

Maternity & Night Nursing Services

personalised maternity nurses are specialized medical professionals trained in postpartum recovery and newborn care. Unlike regular nannies, our meticulously vetted professionals possess medical knowledge and certifications to handle the complex needs of new mothers and newborns during the critical early weeks.

What Maternity Nurses Provide

Maternity nurses offer comprehensive postpartum support including newborn feeding guidance (breast and bottle), sleep routine establishment, health monitoring, umbilical cord care, and maternal recovery support. They educate mothers on infant health, provide emotional reassurance, and create sustainable routines that benefit the entire family.

Night nurses specifically handle all nighttime responsibilities, enabling parents to sleep uninterrupted for recovery. This specialized service is transformative for managing the sleep deprivation and physical demands of early parenthood. Read our comprehensive guide on what to expect from maternity nurse support to prepare for this transformative care.

When to Hire a Maternity Nurse

  • First-time parents needing guidance and confidence-building
  • Multiple births requiring intensive newborn management
  • Maternal health complications requiring specialized postpartum care
  • Limited family support from relatives or existing help
  • Parents requiring uninterrupted sleep for medical or recovery reasons
  • Special feeding situations or challenges
  • High-profile families requiring discreet, professional care

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What to Expect from Night Nursing

Night nurses transform the newborn period by providing expert overnight care while parents rest and recover.

Feeding & Nutrition

Whether breastfeeding support, bottle preparation, or hybrid feeding, night nurses manage all aspects of infant nutrition with expertise and documentation for daytime care continuity.

Sleep & Routine

Establishing healthy sleep patterns early prevents future sleep issues. Night nurses use evidence-based techniques to help newborns develop sustainable sleep routines while parents rest.

Health Monitoring

Maternity nurses monitor newborn health indicators, recognize warning signs, and know when to escalate concerns to pediatricians. This professional oversight provides peace of mind.

Parental Recovery

Postpartum recovery is critical. Uninterrupted sleep accelerates maternal healing, emotional recovery, and reduces postpartum mood disorder risks. Night nurses enable genuine rest.

Confidence Building

Day observations and education from night nurses help parents gain confidence in infant care skills. By the end of the placement, most families feel equipped for independent parenting.

Seamless Handover

Daily handovers document infant feeding, output, sleep patterns, and any concerns. This ensures consistency between night and day caregivers for optimal infant wellbeing.

Duration & Transition

Maternity nursing placements typically last 6-12 weeks, depending on family needs and newborn development. Many families transition from night-only to part-time care as confidence grows.

Typical Placement Timeline

Most families begin with night-time support (11pm-7am) during the most critical early weeks. As parents gain confidence and the newborn settles into routines, many transition to part-time coverage or weekly assistance for specific support needs.

The nurse's role gradually decreases as the family becomes more independent, though many families maintain periodic check-ins or weekend support beyond the initial placement period for reassurance and professional guidance.

Transitioning to Independence

  • Structured handover period to build parental confidence
  • Education on infant health monitoring and problem-solving
  • Documentation of routines and infant preferences
  • Availability for post-placement questions via phone/email
  • Option to continue periodic check-ins or weekend support
  • Flexible transition timing based on family readiness
  • Clear communication about decreased hours and final services

Maternity Nurse: Frequently Asked Questions

What is a maternity nurse?
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A maternity nurse is a specialist newborn-care professional who lives in your home for the first weeks (or months) after your baby's birth. She is qualified and experienced in newborn feeding, sleep, settling and routine, and her role is to take expert care of the baby, particularly overnight, while teaching the parents how to do the same with confidence. The maternity nurse is not a midwife and does not provide medical care, but she works closely with your midwife, lactation consultant and paediatrician.
What does a maternity nurse do day-to-day?
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A maternity nurse supports feeding (breast or bottle), establishes a gentle but consistent feeding and sleep routine, manages overnight care so the parents can rest, sterilises bottles and prepares formula, washes baby laundry, monitors the baby's weight and wellbeing, supports recovery from C-section or difficult births, and gradually transfers all knowledge and confidence to the parents. She does not look after older children, cook for the wider family or do household cleaning beyond the baby's needs.
What is the difference between a maternity nurse and a night nanny?
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A maternity nurse typically works 24 hours a day on a 6-day-on / 1-day-off basis, living in the home for 4–12 weeks after the birth, and her remit is the full establishment of feeding and sleep. A night nanny works only nights, usually 8pm to 7am, and is hired for shorter or longer periods purely to give parents a full night's sleep. Many families hire a maternity nurse first and then transition to a night nanny once a routine is established.
How much does a maternity nurse cost?
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Maternity nurse rates are usually quoted per day or per week. In the UK, France, Monaco and Switzerland, daily rates for a qualified maternity nurse are typically £200–£400 for 24-hour live-in care, or £150–£250 per night for night-only support. Senior, highly experienced maternity nurses with twin or premature-baby specialism, or in-demand languages, command higher rates. Full packages also include accommodation, all meals and travel.
When should we hire a maternity nurse?
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Begin your search during the second trimester of pregnancy, the best maternity nurses are booked 4–9 months in advance, and demand peaks in spring and autumn. We recommend confirming a primary candidate plus a backup, since due dates can shift by several weeks in either direction. Lumière holds dates and manages overlap so that you have certainty of cover from your due date through your chosen end date.
How long do families typically keep a maternity nurse?
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The most common engagements are 4 weeks, 6 weeks and 12 weeks. Four weeks gives you a rest and a reliable feeding routine; six weeks usually establishes longer night-time stretches; twelve weeks generally produces a fully sleep-trained baby on a settled day-and-night routine. Families with twins, triplets or babies with reflux often extend to 16–24 weeks.
What qualifications should a maternity nurse have?
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A reputable maternity nurse will hold a Maternity Practitioner qualification (MNT or NEST), or NNEB / CACHE Level 3 with documented newborn specialism, an enhanced DBS / criminal background check, in-date paediatric first-aid certification, and at least 2 years of verifiable newborn experience. Additional CPD in breastfeeding support, tongue-tie awareness, sleep training and twin/multiple care is increasingly standard.
Can a maternity nurse help with breastfeeding?
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Yes, most senior maternity nurses are highly experienced in breastfeeding support: latch and positioning, building supply, expressing and storing milk, paced bottle feeding for combination feeders, and recognising tongue-tie or other feeding issues that need a specialist referral. They work alongside lactation consultants when more clinical input is needed and never override medical guidance.
Can a maternity nurse take care of twins or multiples?
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Absolutely, but specifically experienced twin / multiple maternity nurses are a smaller pool, so book early and expect a higher rate. For triplets or premature multiples, families often hire two maternity nurses working in tandem (one daytime, one nighttime, or two together for the most intensive weeks) before transitioning to a single nurse plus a night nanny.
How does Lumière match families with maternity nurses?
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We start with a confidential conversation about your due date, feeding intentions (breast, combination, bottle), birth plan, family situation, languages and any specific concerns. We then shortlist 3–5 maternity nurses whose experience precisely matches your brief, arrange video interviews, and confirm your chosen candidate with full contract, scheduling and backup. We remain available for support throughout the placement.

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Ready to Find Your Maternity Nurse?

Our specialized team understands the unique demands of early parenthood. We'll match you with an exceptional maternity professional who provides expert support during this transformative period.

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Worldwide Service

International Maternity Nurse Placement

Lumière Placements serves families worldwide. Whether you need a maternity nurse in Monaco, London, New York, Dubai, Geneva, Hong Kong, Singapore, or any other international destination, our global network of professional childcare specialists ensures the perfect match for your family.

London New York Dubai Paris Geneva Hong Kong Singapore Monaco Los Angeles Miami Zurich Milan Sydney Abu Dhabi Tokyo

Our Promise

Every nanny we place is carefully vetted, referenced and background-checked

Every family deserves to feel confident in their childcare. Every nanny in our network has been through thorough reference checks, qualification validation and security screening. We take the time to get it right, so you can feel at ease from day one.

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The Lumière difference

Founded by a working career nanny, not a recruiter

"I founded Lumière because the families I worked for kept asking the same question: where do we find another nanny like you? I still take private placements. Every nanny I place is one I would work alongside."

Hanna founded Lumière Placements after years inside private households as a career nanny. She continues to take selected private placements alongside leading the agency, a working-nanny perspective that shapes every shortlist Lumière puts forward. Lumière is the only French Riviera-based boutique placement agency, placing across Monaco, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Cannes, Saint-Tropez and Nice, and worldwide, founded and led by an active working career nanny.

Why families choose Lumière

Based
French Riviera
Founder
Hanna, working career nanny
Approach
Families understood from the inside, the right nanny for the right family
Qualifications
Norland, CACHE, NNEB, Montessori
Vetting
References verified, DBS where applicable
Employment
Declared, full contracts
Reach
17 cities · 3 continents
Specialisms
Live-in, rota, governess, maternity, yacht, travel
Every Lumière nanny completes our Training & Standards Programme, founder-led by a working career nanny, not a corporate recruiter. Over 100 nannies placed, with a free re-match in the first three months.