Silly question ??

[Elleveein, LVN]

Are "baby nurses" really nurses or are they nannies for newborns ?

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Are you referring to nurses who work in newborn (well baby) nurseries? If so, I find it hard to understand what you are questioning. You may be confusing nursing practice with the performance with technical tasks. If so, NBN may not have the hi-tech gizmos, but working with brand new humans who are acclimating to their first hours 'on earth' is definitely Nursing (with a capital N).

Not all abnormalities are detected with an APGAR - skilled NB nursery staff are the clinicians who catch the frequently 'subtle' signs of potentially serious illness.

[BellaInBlueScrubsRN]

Where did you hear the term "baby nurses"? That might help clarify

[mustlovepoodles, RN]

Well, it can mean different things. Some families have a "baby nurse", an old fashioned term for someone who takes care of the youngest chiildren, like a nanny. There may be no actually professional nursing care involved. I have also heard RNs/LPNs who work in the newborn nursery refer to themselves as "baby nurses." I think maybe they do that to avoid confusing people. My sister works in a nursery and I worked in a nursery. One of us was raising baby boxwoods and the other was raising baby humans.

[cnmbfa]

This is not a silly question.

Are you are referring to persons who help out new Moms in the first week or so at home, get up at night for feedings, etc.? If yes, they may call themselves "baby nurses", but are almost never RNs or LPNs.

They do a disservice to actual nurses by calling themselves that, and in some states it is illegal to refer to yourself as a "nurse" if you are not licensed as one.

[Sparrowhawk]

I've always heard it as a young inexperienced nurse was a baby nurse...

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

a baby nurse is a nurse.. even if a newborn is stable at birth they still need to have a assesment frequently to be sure they stay stable or any changes in their condition ...

[Elleveein, LVN]

ok let me explain the question, i was watching a show on Bravo called "Bethanny getting married" and she said she was getting a baby nurse for night time and that got me to wondering is she actually hiring a nurse or is it a nanny thats calling themselves nurse.

[Nurseinprocess]

ok let me explain the question, i was watching a show on Bravo called "Bethanny getting married" and she said she was getting a baby nurse for night time and that got me to wondering is she actually hiring a nurse or is it a nanny thats calling themselves nurse.

I was watching that too and wondered if the woman actually had credentials or license to back up her title. I was assuming she's just a nanny that likes being called a nurse. I didn't like how she seemed to be unsupportive of Bethenny nursing the baby (God forbid she have to wake up and take the baby to mom to nurse every couple hours!). A good nurse would have encouraged her, not played up how hard it would be to not schedulize the baby. I wasn't impressed with the woman at all, I'm surprised she picked her (she didn't seem to be warm or have any personality to me).

[Asystole RN]

ok let me explain the question, i was watching a show on Bravo called "Bethanny getting married" and she said she was getting a baby nurse for night time and that got me to wondering is she actually hiring a nurse or is it a nanny thats calling themselves nurse.

[Doza]

got me wondering too until I saw "bethany" in the post

i sure hope the baby nurse is a real nurse and not a nanny calling herself nurse. or is it because she is helping to nurse the baby that she can call herself nurse? :)

[MagsMom]

I know several people who have hired baby nurses. In this context they are usually just caregivers for a newborn during the first 2 weeks the baby is home from the hospital.

I do know one woman (not personally but through the mom network) who is an actual RN who is a baby nurse and she charges $500 a night to tend the baby with a 5 day minimum - she is on duty from 7 to 7. Before the recession people would schedule their elective c-sections around her schedule.