What is a night nanny?

A night nanny, sometimes called a newborn care specialist, night doula, or postpartum doula, provides overnight newborn care, helping parents get restorative sleep while keeping baby safe and cared for.

What’s a Night Nanny?

April 28, 2022

updated, Dec 31, 2025- What’s a Night Nanny?
A night nanny sometimes called a newborn care specialist, night doula or postpartum doula provides overnight support for new parents by caring for the baby during the night and helping families get restorative sleep and recover from birth. If you’re a new parent wondering “What’s a night nanny?” or “What does a night nanny do?” our guide explains.

Night nannies provide hands-on newborn care along with evidence-based guidance on feeding, safe sleep and infant routines. While the term “night nurse” is sometimes used, the title of nurse is legally protected in most states and should only apply to licensed professionals (RN, LPN, LVN).

Families can verify training and standards through resources like the National NAPS Registry for Night Doulas.

What Does a Night Nanny Do?

A night nanny provides overnight newborn care and parent support, typically during an 8–12 hour shift. Their responsibilities focus on keeping the baby safe, fed, and settled while allowing parents to sleep.

A night nanny helps with:

Newborn care
Feeding, diapering, swaddling, soothing, and monitoring the baby throughout the night. Night nannies also help babies transition to sleeping in a crib and adjust to bottle feeding when needed.

Breastfeeding support
If you’re breastfeeding, the night nanny brings the baby to you for feeds, then handles burping, diapering and resettling so you can return to sleep quickly. For pumping parents, night nannies clean and sterilize pump parts and ensure safe milk storage. Because parents never get out of bed unless they want to, night nannies give breastfeeding parents 2-3 hours more sleep per night.

Bottle feeding support
Safe formula preparation, bottle cleaning and sterilization, paced bottle feeding, and support with reducing overnight feeds when developmentally appropriate.

Infant sleep support
While babies develop sleep on their own timeline, night nannies help establish healthy sleep habits and longer stretches of rest using gentle, age-appropriate methods. This is especially valuable for families with twins or multiples.

Household tasks related to baby care
Keeping bottles, pump parts and feeding supplies clean and organized, maintaining a tidy nursery, and preparing baby items for the morning.

Parental education
Sharing research-backed guidance on safe sleep, feeding, newborn routines, and normal infant behavior so parents feel confident during the day.

Emotional support
Providing calm, nonjudgmental reassurance and helping parents understand normal postpartum emotions versus when to seek additional support.

Documentation
Logging feeds, diapers, sleep patterns, and notes using tools like the LMS Live app or another tracking system, which is especially helpful for twins and medically complex babies.

The goal is simple: parents wake up rested and get to keep their immune systems strong while babies are safe and cared for. The entire household starts the day present, in a calmer, more sustainable way.

How much does a night nanny cost?

Night nanny rates vary by location, experience and the number or needs of babies. For a single healthy newborn, expect $36–$50 per hour. Costs may be higher for twins, or babies with medical needs.

Who Hires a Night Nanny?

Families hire overnight newborn care for many reasons, including limited maternity or parental leave, lack of nearby family support, caring for twins or multiples, recovery after a complicated birth or C-section, babies coming home from the NICU, managing postpartum anxiety or extreme exhaustion, or wanting evidence-based guidance during the newborn stage.

Sometimes the reason is as simple as, “I just ran the equivalent of a marathon, and at the finish line they handed me baby.” In countries with built-in postpartum support, this help is expected. In the U.S., families often create their own village.

There’s no “one size fits all” reason parents hire overnight postpartum care. In most other countries, new parents receive community or government support. In the U.S., with families spread out and many jobs not offering paid maternity leave, it makes sense that parents sometimes need a helping hand.

What should I ask during a night nanny interview?

If you’re considering night nanny care, you can prepare to talk with a potential caregiver by reading What Should I ask a Night Nurse?

Is it worth getting a night nanny if I’m breastfeeding?

Yes. A night nanny handles all newborn care except feeding, giving parents 2-3 hours of more sleep per night. They provide lactation support and can use pumped breastmilk for overnight feeds, gradually taking on more care as baby becomes alert around week 6. They also do all pump prep and cleaning as well as milk storage and bringing you food and drink.

As the weeks go on and you’re able to have a “stash” of breastmilk for overnight feeds, an overnight caregiver can use this pumped milk for overnight feeds or continue to bring baby to you. As baby becomes more alert, usually around week 6, the newborn caregiver will be up and caring for baby during the wakeful overnight periods.

Can I hire a night nanny for just one night?

Yes, but availability varies. Some night nannies or agencies only accept multi-night bookings, so it’s best to check in advance. If you have a Let Mommy Sleep gift certificate you can use it for one night of care. Most families hire night nannies for 8–12 overnight hours per week.

What’s the Difference between a Night Nanny and Postpartum Doula?

A night nanny stays awake overnight to care for baby and provide evidence-based guidance and is vaccinated. A postpartum doula may assist with household tasks, older children and family support, but often does not work overnight. The terms are often used interchangeably along with newborn caregiver.

Do I need a Registered Nurse overnight?

An overnight RN/LPN/LVN is needed when a baby has medical needs, like feeding tubes, prescribed medications, or chronic conditions. Mother/baby nurses also support parents, monitoring recovery, screening for postpartum mood disorders, and catching issues early in the first 7–10 days at home.

Does Insurance Cover my Night Doula?

In most cases, non-medical night doula or night nanny care is an out-of-pocket expense. However, coverage options are expanding as more insurers and employers recognize the importance of postpartum support.

Here are a few possibilities to explore:

Private insurance: Some insurers may reimburse part of postpartum doula care, especially when billed under “lactation support” or “postpartum visits.” Coverage varies widely, so it’s best to call your provider directly.
Licensed nursing care: If overnight care is provided by a Registered Nurse (RN, LPN, LVN) for a medically necessary reason—such as pediatric monitoring after a NICU stay—insurance is more likely to cover services with a doctor’s referral.
Employer benefits: A growing number of companies include postpartum doula or newborn care in employee benefit programs.
Financing & Baby Registries: Let Mommy Sleep offers pay-over-time or financing options. Parents can also add postpartum services to baby registries through platforms like BabyList.

While it’s not guaranteed, it’s worth checking with your insurance provider, employer, or benefits administrator. Even when insurance doesn’t cover services directly, families have more creative payment options than ever before. Here are some detailed strategies on how to get insurance to cover my night nanny.

How to Decide if You Need Overnight Newborn Care

If you’re wondering, “Do I really need a night nurse?” the answer often depends on your family’s circumstances. Some parents hire overnight newborn care simply for peace of mind, while others find it’s the only way to safely recover and function during the day.

You may benefit from a night nanny, newborn care specialist or postpartum doula if:

You’re returning to work soon and need healthy, restorative sleep to function.
You don’t have nearby family or consistent overnight support.
recovering from a C-section, complicated birth or balancing an ongoing health condition with being a brand new parent.
caring for newborn twins or higher order multiples, which can mean 20+ feeds and diaper changes every 24 hours.
Your baby is coming home from the NICU and you want expert, evidence-based support as you adjust.
You or your partner are struggling with postpartum anxiety, depression or overwhelming fatigue.
You’d like guidance on safe sleep, feeding and newborn routines from someone trained in evidence-based care.
Helping baby sleep through the night without “crying it out” is important to your family.
You simply want peace of mind knowing your baby is safe and gently cared for overnight.