Nursery World - Maternal instincts

It takes a special person to specialise in mother and baby care at home. Helen Kewley speaks with a few Maternity nursing is a career direction that many nannies consider. There are good reasons to do so - agencies report that there is a strong demand for maternity care, and a good maternity nurse can earn 500 to 800 a week, in bookings that last anything from two weeks to three months. But confusion exists around what the job involves and what experience or qualifications it requires, especially as maternity nursing has evolved over the years.

Maternity nursing is a career direction that many nannies consider. There are good reasons to do so - agencies report that there is a strong demand for maternity care, and a good maternity nurse can earn 500 to 800 a week, in bookings that last anything from two weeks to three months. But confusion exists around what the job involves and what experience or qualifications it requires, especially as maternity nursing has evolved over the years.

Wendy Channing was a maternity nurse in the 1960s. She had worked in a children's home until she got married, spent 15 years bringing up her own family and then did some part-time work in a day nursery and helped with her grandchildren. When she was 55 her husband was killed.

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