Set out below are a selection of the most frequently asked questions. We think we’ve covered everything, however, if there’s a question you feel we haven’t answered here we would be delighted to consider adding it to our already long list below.
Miscellaneous
We place our Maternity Nurses with our clients who live in London, the country and overseas. In London, we take both residential and days/nights only bookings, however, for country and overseas bookings, the bookings are residential as it is rare a Maternity Nurse will have her own accommodation nearby. For bookings abroad, the client is responsible for the Maternity Nurse’s flights, medical insurance and visas.
We do accept applications from Midwives and Nurses, however we do require previous household experience, for example carrying out home visits or providing help to a mother when she arrived home from the hospital or working for a number of days in a placement.
We will contact you to confirm your interest before sending the client your CV and references to peruse. Once the client has read your documentation, she will arrange to telephone you for a chat. If you are in a booking we will advise when would be the best time to call so that you are not disturbed. We find that some clients prefer to speak to a few Maternity Nurses before making a shortlist to interview and others arrange to meet sttraight away following the first telephone conversation. Whatever the process, we will always keep you up to date with the client’s feedback so that you know if you are still being considered, in which case we will not circulate your details for the same dates. If you are no longer on the client’s shortlist, or she has changed her mind about some aspect of the booking, we will immediately contact you about other bookings for the same or similar dates. Remember, we are always looking at your availability and promise to keep you busy!
We know from experience that certain situations can arise where the booking doesn’t go as smoothly as planned, although thankfully this is rare.
We will always offer our support during the course of any booking. We will listen, assist with a tricky situation if necessary and will endeavour to provide you with the best possible solution and advice. You may wish to leave your booking earlier than planned and, in this instance, we would ask you to remain in the household until the replacement Maternity Nurse is confirmed. We will always ensure both Maternity Nurse and client are supported and listened to during and after the booking. Again, we must point out that this happens rarely.
If you have been asked by the client to extend the booking, but you don’t wish to as you need to rest or you have personal commitments, please advise your consultant so she can propose alternatives to the client.
We would recommend that you discuss this at the interview or during the course of the pregnancy, when you are nearing the start date. Bear in mind that some clients will have bought items already as they liked the look of them or a friend recommended them.
If a first time mother has stayed in hospital for 3 to 4 nights, she will be feeling stronger than if she was immediately discharged. On the other hand, if she is discharged after one night’s stay, she might be feeling vulnerable.
It is a special moment for the parents to leave the hospital and most mothers would prefer to settle in at home first and then have the Maternity Nurse arrive. On the other hand, you could arrive at the house and be asked to work on opening all the equipment and/or organise the nursery if it hasn’t already been done.
Each pregnancy, birth and appointment will be different, so it will depend on the circumstances.
Most Maternity Nurses, once they have been offered a booking and have accepted, request a week’s deposit which is offset against the last week of the booking.
In the event the booking doesn’t proceed, through no fault of the Maternity Nurse, 50% of the deposit would be returned. In the rare case of loss, we would expect the Maternity Nurse to return the entire deposit and we would make her our priority to find a replacement booking.
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Changes to Booking Length
We would suggest that the client eases herself into taking charge of her baby on a gradual basis, for example the Maternity Nurse changes to ‘nights only’ or does some daytime hours and some nights while looking after the baby’s nursery. A new mother takes time to recover and in the early weeks she can feel stronger than she actually is. It’s important she doesn’t overdo things to hinder a full recovery.
In any event, a week’s notice from the client is fair and this should be addressed in the contract.
This does happen, although thankfully it is rare. We would expect you to advise us as soon as you know, so we can find a replacement Maternity Nurse for the client. You would, of course, need to return your deposit immediately.
The client will usually broach the subject with her Maternity Nurse before speaking to the Maternally Yours consultant. As long as she is available, we will proceed with the extension as requested, however, we will not allow a Maternity Nurse to extend her booking if there is an overlap with her next client’s dates.
When discussing the start date with the client, we do take into consideration whether it’s a first baby, a multiple pregnancy and, if this is not the first baby, previous arrival dates.
As first babies can be late, we would recommend a start date of 3-6 days after the due date. However, if a C-Section is planned, it is sensible to allow for 4 nights’ hospital stay. Some clients book on a full retainer and are aware that this is costly, but this is their decision.
If the start date comes and goes, you should be paid 50% of your rate until you start, and this should be stated in the contract.
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Overseas Positions
The client will pay for your train, flights and taxi both to and from the location abroad for the interview and for the booking. Before you leave we insist on a return ticket being provided. It is also important that you have health insurance for abroad, although some Maternity Nurse’s private health insurance covers them for this purpose. Please check your policy for verification.
If you don’t currently have any health insurance you may like to start by contacting Flexi Cover.
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Maternity Nurses
“Expecting my first baby, or babies (twins), I felt like I was entering a whole new world in terms of Nannies and Maternity Nurses (not to mention everything else that goes with babies!). Maternally Yours put my mind at ease the moment we spoke, she didn't make me feel at all silly for my endless list of concerns and was thorough in finding out exactly the type of Maternity Nurse I would need. Within a day or 2, I had a list of potential candidates, each with an extensive library of references and it was immediately clear that Maternally Yours had summed up both me and my requirements perfectly. I spoke with my first choice of Maternity Nurse the next day and all was agreed and wrapped up within a few days of my first call. I would without a doubt highly recommend Maternally Yours. They are friendly, diligent and certainly made me feel as if I was their most important client.”
Samantha Wright
Parent
“We naturally used Maternally Yours services for the second time. Just like the first time our request was handled very quickly and the candidates sent to us were a perfect match, sadly we only needed one Maternity Nurse! The follow up done by the agency is seamless and continuous from the beginning until the end which is very reassuring. I couldn’t recommend Maternally Yours more and will definitely contact them again should our family expand a bit more.”
Mrs. Marion Petard
Parent
“After unexpectedly finding myself without a Maternity Nurse quite close to my due date, Maternally Yours came swiftly to my rescue and turned what would have been a very stressful situation into a smooth and reassuring process... Even with a specific set of search criteria and parameters, we were matched with a number of excellent options and are very much looking forward to [our Maternity Nurse] join us later this month. I would wholeheartedly recommend Maternally Yours to my friends and relatives looking to find a Maternity Nurse.”
Antonia Weisman
Parent
“Maternally Yours has always been so helpful and understanding of our needs, from the moment I first called them from the hospital back in 2013 after my first son was born up until recently with our second. They can always find you a good Maternity Nurse, even at short notice, and make you feel like they really understand your needs as a mother and take into account what you are going through at any given time, for example, both our babies had severe reflux and allergies. We have always been highly impressed and satisfied with the service we have received, and they even found us, someone, to help us out over Christmas when our son was very poorly. Amazing service and highly efficient. So grateful to them for all their help over the past 4 years!"
Tanya M
Parent
“Maternally Yours are an extremely professional and trustworthy agency, they are caring and incredibly efficient. They understood our needs and provided us with a really exceptional Maternity Nurse - in another league from others. The team at Maternally Yours were just wonderful - we really highly recommend them!”
Isabella Bernardeau
Parent
“My husband and I reached out to Maternally Yours hoping for assistance with our 3-week old son particularly with getting him on a schedule and his reflux. They immediately found us very well qualified candidates that would suit our needs perfectly. We had an extensive choice and the nurse we chose started immediately and my husband and I had some time together, much-needed rest, and our son adores her, while immediately making an impact on his reflux and night schedule. We trust her implicitly and highly recommend the agency.”
Erin
Parent
“The service was very professional, efficient and prompt and we were given an excellent choice of individuals, all of whom were of a very high standard and had an excellent track record. I would have no hesitation in recommending them to other parents – particularly those who are new to parenting and would benefit with some early expert advice!“
Beth Kane
Parent
“They made sure to send me only the best quality candidates, saving me a huge amount of time and vetting work, and modified the candidate profile as I revised my requirements during the process... They provided background and references for each candidate in very digestible packets and made a process that could otherwise have been extremely time-consuming and stressful very straightforward. I felt confident I would find a great person through them and I did.”
Alexandra B.
Parent
“Maternally yours was the only agency we used when searching for a Maternity Nurse. They were recommended to us by friends and after a brief discussion, they sent us a short-list of highly qualified candidates. We immediately found an exceptionally talented Maternity Nurse and were extremely happy with our choice. We are grateful to Maternally Yours for introducing [our Maternity Nurse] into our lives and for helping us to find the perfect match for our needs in such an efficient and painless manner.”
Mrs Michal Saad
Parent
“We hired a Maternity Nurse through Maternally Yours and we hired a nanny through Imperial Nannies. Both were exceptional experiences. All of the applicants were well qualified and personable. Our only problem was that it was hard to choose who to hire with so many wonderful applicants! Our Maternity Nurse was loving, kind and provided exceptional care to my daughter (and me) after her birth. And our nanny has continued to provide care, love and education to our daughter who is almost one year old now. I highly recommend using Maternally Yours and Imperial Nannies to help you find an exceptional Maternity Nurse or nanny.”
Vanessa Rivers
Parent
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