Some families are now paying up to $800 a day for nurses to take care of their newborn babies and help them sleep through the night.
These baby nurses work 22-hour shifts, often without a day off until the baby is 3 or 4 weeks old. After three or four weeks, they take a day off once every two weeks. The average pay for this kind of position ranges from $600 to $800 per day, but nurses are paid more if they are caring for twins and triplets.
These baby nurses aren’t always technically nurses. Some are nannies, while others are licensed practical nurses or registered nurses. They are often mothers themselves, meaning they’re taking time away from their own children to provide care to others.
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According to Seth Norman Greenberg, vice president of domestic staffing company Pavillion Agency, families are keeping their baby nurses for longer than they have in the past, sometimes up to nine months after the birth of the child.
"Whereas most of my baby nurse cases in the past, up until a few years ago, would last between one and three months, now they’re lasting between six and nine months," Greenberg said to Business Insider.
So what do baby nurses do exactly?
The Pavillion Agency website says their baby nurses will take care of “everything concerning the care of newborns.”
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Baby nurses’ duties are dependent on the family and their needs. They can be hired to teach parents how to bathe, feed and diaper their child. Families may also request their baby nurses teach them to create a stable bedtime routine for their newborn. Some baby nurses are in charge of keeping the baby’s room clean, and others work to help get the baby on a regular sleep schedule for when they eventually end their care and turn it over to the parents.
Baby nurses are another form of help and flexibility many working parents want or need. Greenberg believes his clients are able to continue their professional lives without a beat because of their additional baby nurse help.
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"All of these very successful people are able to be successful because their homes are run," he told Business Insider. "I spoke to someone the other day who said, ‘My husband’s a titan, he manages 10,000 people, and he can’t put our kid to sleep.’"
Whether or not you agree with this intensive childcare routine, it’s helping working parents everywhere get down to business. And for women, who are disproportionately burdened with taking care of kids, that’s a huge win.
A version of this post previously appeared on Fairygodboss, the largest career community that helps women get the inside scoop on pay, corporate culture, benefits and work flexibility. Founded in 2015, Fairygodboss offers company ratings, job listings, discussion boards and career advice.
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