What home postnatal support would have helped you, and hourly rates?

[Postnatalnest]

Hi everyone 🤍

I’m looking into setting up a gentle, non-medical postnatal support service for new parents at home (help with feeding, light housework, emotional support).

I’d love to ask — what would have helped you most in those early days after bringing baby home? How much you think is acceptable to charge per hour.

No pressure at all, just trying to understand what parents really need 💛

What qualifications would you have RE feeding/emotional support?

I had PND and I just wanted someone to take charge of the baby, soothe them, see to their needs etc while I went upstairs and slept.

There’s lots of things I would have wanted help with after my
babies were born but, being on a reduced household income due to Mat pay, I wouldn’t have been able to afford any of it!

I have been an NHS maternity support worker for 14.5 years and have 3 children of my own. Hence non medical help. I’m located an hour from London by train.

I needed support at night! If I could have had someone from midnight to 6am that would have been ideal. My baby didn’t sleep for more than about 30 mins at a time. Turns out he had allergies and very bad reflux.
I managed to get him into nursery one day a week at 14 weeks and my mum helped another day a week, with their support telling me I wasn’t imagining it and it wasn’t normal I pushed back with our hopeless gp and he did eventually get diagnosed.
The doctor was all for prescribing me anti depressants, but I wasn’t sad. I was chronically sleep deprived.
In terms of cost, the nursery were £75 a day so somewhere around this, but it wouldn’t pay you enough. It’s £12.50 for 6 hours but you’d have expenses like a car and insurance, registrations if you are caring for a child. Minimum wage is going to be £12.71 in April.
We paid out of savings (I was on SSP) and we wouldn’t have done so if I wasn’t struggling so much. I think your issue will be, most families can’t afford help, and those that can tend to already have a cleaner and will pick someone who will be a longer term nanny for them (my sister did this).

in the NHS it’s a role alongside midwives, we often do more of the non medical support that often midwives sadly do not have time for. Breast feeding , practical and emotional support, we monitor jaundice, provide parent craft classes, complete the heel prick test, observations etc.

Same.

I found a lovely woman who advertised as a Mothers Help, but it was only when I was just about going back to work with my youngest.

Really wish I’d found her earlier.

Tasks I would have loved: light housework, washing / drying clothes and bedsheets (I had a lot of washing due to very sicky babies), cooking easy, healthy dinners, taking baby for long walks so I could nap, entertaining/ soothing baby while I had a shower etc.

Hourly rate, I’m not sure. It’s the kind of job where I imagine most mums want as many hours as they can get.

Previous poster mentioned qualifications. The woman I knew was an experienced mum, which was the only qualification I was interested in really.

I had a post natal doula for both my babies. They helped with a bit of tidying and light housework, cooked healthy food for me, and held the baby while I slept

Well I have 14.5 years experience in my maternity role and 3 children regarding qualifications. I’m not a registered midwife or lactation consultant and my price would reflect that but I think lived experience professionally and personally are extremely valuable, for what I’m trying to offer. I would look to top up my breast feeding learning often and would also get first aid training independently.

I'd definitely look at becoming a lactation consultant, so many of my friends paid for that so if you can offer that you'll likely get more interest. We didn't find we needed support, mostly as my DH works from home, but I think I would have used a cleaner and someone to fill the freezer with meals, if we did need help.

I would have loved what @dreamsofthebeach86 described.

Of course, until you have the baby, you don't know what it will be like, or what you would appreciate. Every baby is different, every birth is different, every new mother experiences things differently and everyone's support network is different.
So I think it would be a tricky business model, as not many people would be able to plan ahead to book you, and, at the time they then decided they could do with some help, probably wouldn't be in a particularly good head space to be able to logically think through what they want, and somehow track you down, interview you, check references, and so forth. Plus of course, for many (most?) people this is a time when couples are having to tighten their belts.

Like @Shinyandnew1 , much though a 'Mother's Help' would be lovely, I couldn't have found the money at that point.

This is a postnatal doula. I’d look around and see what others charge (and also what training they have). If I remember correctly, mine charged maybe £12-15 per hour for add on postnatal support, but this was 10 years ago+. I think the key is offering it as part of a doula package because you already have connections to families. It’s hard to do as a standalone. You may also consider training as a night nurse, which taps you into a different market.

@dreamsofthebeach86 that’s the sort of model of business I’m trying to design. I had almost no help postnatally from family as they don’t live close etc and it really does take a village. I didn’t want just a cleaner or a lactation consultant but someone in between who I could ask to help change the bed, offer some breastfeeding support, start dinner, do a bit of housework so I didn’t feel overwhelmed. Sometimes even people who have family help don’t feel comfortable asking them to do specific tasks. I suppose I’m trying to offer knowledgeable support. I’m not trying to offer medical advice but feel very knowledgeable in my experiences to signpost to the correct professional if I feel medical advice is needed.

I had PND (and a silent reflux baby who never slept) and had a volunteer from HomeStart who came once a week and took my daughter for a walk so I got 2 hours to sleep. I would have paid £15-20 an hour for that in a heartbeat.

I have a 6 month old and have needed support in late pregnancy and since my son has been born.

Managing baby and my eldest has been the biggest juggle. My parents have been picking my daughter up from school twice a week. My dad then looks after baby whilst I spend some time with her and get her ready for a club. My dad then drops her off at the club on his way home. My mum takes her to her swimming lesson once a week as i struggle with getting her washed and changed with baby in the sling and there is no where nice to put him down.

I've been doing online food shopping but it can be hard to find the time and the hands to sort it and put it away again. I've booked shops for when my mum or dad is coming over now so they can hold the baby whilst I put it away. When my partner is working from home he sorts me lunch out. If he's not around and we haven't got left overs lunch I struggle with lunch and it can be a couple of cereal bars or toast.

I have pnd and am having weekly calls with my cpn. I had weekly appointments with my midwives until 28 days and saw my HV every 2-3 weeks for the first 12 weeks. This has been good for talking through concerns and issues.

If I was looking for a service it would be the combination of it all. Someone that could come over for a couple of hours- provide a simple lunch, fold some washing, hold baby whilst I did some bits whilst being a safe person to talk about worries, concerns and feeling like you are doing ok and if not pointing you in the right direction.

I was lacking the energy to look at baby groups but was starting to feel like I wanted to venture out into the world. A friend went sent me a list of local groups so I could look through and see what would interest me. It just lowered the barriers for me.,

I paid for an IBCLC lactation consultant, best spent money ever.

I also got a part time nanny/helper from 3 months. She cleaned, ironed, held the baby, put him down for naps, stayed home while I went out. Essentially a nanny who didn't also mind cleaning and didn't mind me being around. You don't need to be an NHS midwife for that.

I'm not really sure what you are looking to offer. No one needs an actual midwife around beyond the health visits and breastfeeding help appointments. I certainly would not have appreciated medical advice from someone I employed as a nanny. If you want to be a nanny, be a nanny.

We had a night nanny for 6 months for our two youngest. £250 a night at last count I think @ 5 nights a week. Priceless

Not really priceless though.
You are talking about £32500 for those 6 months.
£1250pw.

It is a very, very, very tiny % of new parents that have that kind of money available.

I suspect the OP is talking about something more realistic for more of us to consider.

@BabyBaby748392thank you for taking the time to offer feedback. I hope I’ve clearly stated I would not offer medical advice. I’m currently a maternity support worker so what I’m thinking of offering is help for families in the tricky post natal period. This would look different for each family but as a new mum I would have liked help with cleaning, dinners, food shop, washing, taking baby for a walk whilst parents sleep, emotional support, breastfeeding support within my limitations. I’m not trying to be a nanny just support families. Lots of people don’t have friends or family to help.

But that's exactly what a nanny does, except for the emotional support.

And as to breastfeeding support, you shouldn't be offering it unless you are qualified to do so. I found NHS midwives to give very outdated advice on breastfeeding and if I had listened to their (very confident) position, I would genuinely not have succeeded at breastfeeding.

Re the emotional support, how would this work? I, the employer, would tell you to go do the dishes, and iron my tshirt, and you'd say "hold on, how about doing XYZ with the baby"? Or I say "put baby for a nap" and you say "actually I don't think she needs a nap".

It's well meaning but it would backfire instantly.

There's a reason this service doesn't exist, no nanny advertises as giving emotional support and advice. There are plenty of nannies that specialise in infants etc and people pay good money for them and respect them.