maternity – Page 4 – Nannyjob blog

Hospital vs Home Birth: The Role of Midwives

When you’re planning for your baby’s birth, you’ll have lots to think about. One of the main thoughts that will be going through your mind will be the midwives that will attend your birth – after all, along with your birth partner(s), they will be your main companions throughout your labour.

If you decide to plan to give birth to your baby at home, you may be wondering if your care will differ at all to that of mothers giving birth in a hospital environment.

Ultimately, the main job of midwives is to keep you and your baby as safe as possible, but the dynamics between midwives and their patients can be quite different at a home birth than at a hospital birth.

Hospital Birth
Hospital maternity units are run to strict protocols to ensure quality of care for every woman and baby on the unit. Additionally, maternity units are generally very busy places – often, midwives are stretched to their limits. As a result, midwives need to be ‘in charge’ of their unit. The dynamic between midwives and mothers on a maternity unit is usually very much that of professionals and patients, although midwives do their very best to empower women to make their own choices about their births.

If you choose to give birth on a hospital maternity unit, you will be assigned to a midwife when you arrive. They generally won’t be able to stay with you throughout your labour, but will check on you regularly. When it comes to the second stage of labour when your baby is born, you will have two midwives with you, or a midwife and a doctor.

Home Birth
A home birth is usually a much more holistic affair than hospital birth. People who opt for home birth usually do so because they want a more natural experience, or because they want to feel more in charge of their birth. At a home birth, the midwife – mother dynamic is quite different. Midwives acknowledge that they are guests in the mother’s home, and as such, the mother is very much in charge of her own birth. The midwives are there to safeguard the mother and facilitate the safe delivery of the baby.

If you choose to give birth at home, two midwives will attend you. Usually, the first midwife will arrive at your home with the equipment, and then send for the second midwife when the second stage of labour is approaching.

It is important that we point out that the legal requirements of midwives are the same whether you give birth at a hospital or at home – as the patient, your care is centred around you, and wherever you give birth you are legally responsible to make decisions about your care. The only real difference between hospital and home births is how the birth experiences feel to the birthing family.

DBS Check

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is a government body which processes criminal record checks that prevent unsuitable people from working with children and other vulnerable groups.

There are three types of checks –

Standard check shows spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings.

Enhanced check shows the same as standard and any information held by local police that’s considered relevant to the role.

Enhanced check with barred lists shows the same as enhanced check plus whether applicant is on the list of people on the list barred from doing the role.

These usually take around 8 weeks.

Cost of a DBS check –

Standard £26.00

Enhanced £44.00

Enhanced with Barred lists £44.00

SMP Statutory Maternity Pay

Holiday pay

Employees accrue holiday entitlement as normal throughout the maternity leave and this includes any bank holidays that may fall during that leave and this is a cost to the employer.

Any such holiday accrued is normally either taken or paid for at the end of the leave.

Antenatal classes

Employees are entitled to paid time off to attend these and except from the first appointment you can request proof of this.

If possible they should arrange these appointments at times she is not working although if full time employee this may not be possible.

Keeping in Touch Days

Employees are entitled up to 10 days classed as keeping in touch and any days worked are paid in addition to any paid SMP and is at a cost to the employer.

These days can be used for work and irrespective of the hours worked each day it is classed as a full day for Keeping in Touch purposes.

Pension

If employee contributing to pension when they go maternity leave their pension contributions will be based on the SMP paid, but the employers contributions need to remain at the same level they were on before the maternity leave started.

For example if the employers contribution was £15.00 then irrespective of the SMP paid the employers contribution would remain at the £15.00 throughout the maternity leave.

SMP Statutory Maternity Pay

All nannies are entitled to take up to 1 year off for maternity leave whether paid or unpaid.

How much SMP does employee get?

Of the 1-year entitlement nanny only gets paid for the first 39 weeks and should she take further 13 weeks off these are unpaid.

1^st 6 weeks are paid at 90% of employee’s gross salary.

Remaining 33 weeks are paid at £148.68 or the 90% figure whichever is the lower amount.

Qualification for SMP

Nanny needs to have been employed by you 41 weeks before her due date.

Nanny needs to be earning above the lower earnings limit £118.00 gross per week.

Nanny needs to still be in your employ 15 weeks before her due date.

Processing SMP

Nanny will be issued form MATB1 from her Doctor or Midwife this form will have the due date and from this due date you can then determine whether she qualifies for SMP or not, if not you then need to issue nanny with form SMP1, so she can then claim maternity allowance directly from the state.

Cost of SMP

Small employers can usually claim back 103% of any SMP, this is 100% of the SMP itself and an additional 3% compensation to help towards cost of employers NI.

(ShPP) Shared Parental Leave

Expectant parents can now share the 52 weeks of statutory maternity leave after the birth or adoption of their child.

This leave and statutory pay can be split between them either one after the other or both can be on leave at the same time.

Expectant parents need to give each of their employers an indicative breakdown of the leave they plan to take at least 8 weeks before it starts. They are then able to change their minds twice during the year of leave and put forward new proposals.

This is paid at the same rate of SMP and is based on the salary of the parent taking the leave.

To be eligible both parents must share responsibility for the child at birth. and they must meet the work and pay criteria, i.e. have been employed continuously by the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date, still be employed by the same employer while they take the leave and earn on average at least £118.00 gross per week

Notice periods are built in to the scheme so employers can make plans for the nanny’s intentions for leave.

Employers cannot refuse to grant any leave entitled, however they can refuse requests for separate non continuous blocks of leave and insist that all leave requested is taken in one block.

Both parents are entitled to Keeping in Touch days.

Hypnobirthing

Recent years have seen a soar in the popularity of Hypnobirthing. Perhaps once thought of as a bit ‘woo’ or ‘hippy’, more and more expectant parents are now tapping into the mind:body connection and learning simple yet powerful relaxation techniques to prepare for their baby’s birth. So, what are the benefits: –

Hypnobirthing increases/improves

Confidence for pregnancy and birth (for mum-to-be AND her birth partner)
Flexibility during labour and birth
Informed decision making
Relationship with midwives/doctors
Higher Apgar score
Bonding with baby
Ease of breastfeeding
Smoother transition to parenthood

Hypnobirthing reduces:

Fears, anxieties and tension
Need for medicated pain relief
Requirement of medical intervention
Length of labour
Caesarean rates
Length of stay in hospital
Recovery time after birth
Incidence of post-natal depression

How does it work?

A Hypnobirthing course can be seen as a complete birth toolkit. It teaches simple but specific self-hypnosis, relaxation, breathing and massage techniques for a safe, calm and gentle birth. Simply put, the more relaxed and calm you can be in labour the more in control and positive you will feel.

Hypnobirthing also helps dads and other birth partners understand their role and feel confident about the practical and emotional ways they can support their partners.

It is for all types of birth?

Yes! The techniques are invaluable regardless of the setting, or the way in which your baby enters the world. In fact some of Hypnobirthing’s greatest advocates are those who, for varying reasons, had surgical births. The techniques that they had learned equipped them with the tools they needed to relax, remain calm, and enjoy a positive experience where they still felt in control.

The very point of the techniques is that they work when things are going ‘to plan’ as well as when things may take a turn ‘off plan’: what happens during your birth experience is less important than how you feel about what happens.

Whilst Hypnobirthing doesn’t promise a natural pain-free birth, it does give you the best possible chance of having a straight-forward, vaginal birth, and an experience that you will remember with only positive memories.Sarah teaches in Reading Berkshire. She has worked with many couples to transform their mindset from feeling apprehensive and fearful to feeling prepared, supported, relaxed and excited, and go on to enjoy a birth experience that is positive, empowering and calm.

www.happybirths.net

Doulas: what are they and what do they do?

Doula is a Greek word which originally meant servant. It’s come to mean a woman who supports women through pregnancy, birth and/or the postnatal period. Unlike a maternity nurse who focuses mostly on getting a baby into a good routine in the early months a doula is there throughout the journey to parenthood.

Doulas are often flexible in what they will do. Some specialise in pregnancy and birth, others only do postnatal support to help you adjust to parenthood, get breastfeeding off to a good start and recover from labour. Many will be able to put together a bespoke package to support new families.

Continue reading “Doulas: what are they and what do they do?”

Becoming a maternity nurse

Maternity nurses, or maternity nannies, are newborn specialists who work with parents for the first few weeks of a new baby’s life to help the adjust to parenthood and implement a good routine. They usually work 24 hours a day, 5 or 6 days a week, and an experienced maternity nurse can earn in excess of £1000 per week. They are self-employed and get work from agencies, advertising themselves on sites such as nannyjob.co.uk and via word of mouth. Jobs are can last between 4 weeks and 6 months so maternity nurses are always keeping an eye out for work, attending interviews and planning ahead. Maternity nurses also need to keep an eye on their accounts, keep track of expenses and submit their own tax returns.

Many families request specialist qualifications such as MNT’s Maternity Practitioner, NEST Postnatal Carer or BabyEm’s Maternity Nurse Training courses. Other courses which cover breastfeeding, postnatal depression or multiples to name just a few can also be valuable additions to your CV. Most course providers recommend that you have substantial experience with newborns before studying to become a maternity nurse so you can match the theory you learn in the classroom with your practical experiences. This experience will also give you valuable references when you are trying to get your first maternity nurse booking. Trainee maternity nurses often charge much less than their experienced colleagues in order to gain experience, work with families expecting their second or third child or take on part-time day or night work.

A maternity nurse needs to be cheerful, flexible, organised and able to cope on very little sleep. It’s not just about working with newborn babies, the goal is to involve the parents from the start and leave them feeling confident and able to look after their baby on their own when you leave, but it can be a rewarding progression from nannying into an exciting new career. If you are interested in finding out more, why not ask your questions on our community area?

‘Hurrah’ to the Royal Baby.. ‘Boo’ to the acute morning sickness!

Hyperemesis Gravidarum – The Facts

Along with everyone else in the UK, Nannyjob let out a huge ‘Hurrah’ this week upon hearing the lovely royal baby news. We’ve all watched this perfect pair go through the courtship we all envied, then the wedding of the century. And now, the ultimate – a new cute bundle of joy for the nation’s sweethearts.

So, after our excitement had (only mildly) died down, we started to feel really quite sorry for the beautiful Kate, as we heard that she’d been admitted to a London hospital with hyperemesis gravidarum (a.k.a acute morning sickness). Now you may be thinking that all or most expectant mums get a bit of morning sickness – true, but this acute condition means that rehydration is needed, hence the hospitalisation. So, as we are always here to be the fountain of knowledge to our lovely readers (or tell you what the doctors say!), here we explain what Kate is going through:

hyperemesis gravidarum, is a serious medical condition with potential consequences for mother and baby.
by definition, the condition is the loss of at least 5% of the total body weight.
while seven out of ten pregnant women suffer nausea, usually in the first three months, some are sick morning noon and night throughout, vomiting as much as 25 times a day.
Other than the vomiting and nausea the mother might also experience very sensitive olfactory sensations, bad taste in the mouth, shivering, difficulty reading (from dehydration and changes to the eye), and delayed gastric emptying.
Charlotte Bronte is believed to have been a victim. Women were dying from this condition up to the 1950’s.
Now dehydration can be treated with a drip and is a common reason for hospitalisation accounting for more than 25,000 admissions a year.
Now for the fun bit – A Swedish study in The Lancet in 1999 suggested women suffering from the condition were slightly more likely to be carrying a girl (we’re already making a list of potential royal girls names!).

Nannyjob is super excited about the royal baby, and wishes Kate and William the very best of luck with their pregnancy. And who knows.. They might even start their search for a nanny soon….! 😉

‘What If Money Didn’t Matter?’

Yesterday here at Nannyjob towers, we came across something utterly fantastic – this video, that was flagged up through the powers of social media (our Facebook page!).

To say that this really got us thinking would be a huge understatement. The narrator, the late Alan Watts, takes us through the video, asking the listener to consider something that they may possibly have never really considered before – what they would REALLY want to do with their life, if money didn’t matter.

So, as I’m sure you can imagine, when the Nannyjob team comes across something as thought provoking as this, it leads to a big discussion about how these principals apply to children. We all pretty much agreed that encouraging a child to follow their heart and gravitate towards what they love doing, rather than what might be a ‘sensible’ option, was incredibly important for their long term happiness.

There are still many parents out there who push their child into doing what they themselves think is most beneficial to get them a ‘good’ career. A recent example is a parent I came across at a local private school, who is a surgeon (as is her husband). Clearly a very clever couple in so many ways you might think, although I was utterly flabbergasted at their response to their 10 year old’s new found love of archaeology: “We’ve told him that it’s ok to like it now, but not to get too interested in it, as it wouldn’t be a good career choice”.

Oh. My. Goodness. Me! This child is TEN for God’s sake! And he REALLY ENJOYS archaeology! Apart from this, if they’re concerned about future financial successes for their LITTLE boy, surely some of the world’s leading archaeologists are onto a really high earner? Needless to say, Nannyjob was very confused (and a little sad) about this.

It appears that for many parents, this is the chosen approach. Very often the children are denied what they love doing, and are steered in the direction of something they aren’t remotely interested in, or naturally good at. The parents are then surprised when their child grows up and rebels, or even worse, spends their entire career totally miserable. Of course, this is not always the case, as many children in this position actually start believing that this approach is the best, and that denying themselves of a degree and potentially a job in archaeology, art, dance, or whatever they actually enjoy but were told wasn’t ‘sensible’ is more beneficial to them. But I bet my last nannying pound that they turn around one day, even if it is in retirement, and say ‘what if I’d done what I really wanted….’.

So our advice is to most definitely follow the late, great Mr Watts’ advice after you watch this video, and to do what you REALLY want to do, and encourage your children the same. They will thank you for it, we promise….

To watch the video Click here!