The confinement period is a vulnerable time in your life, during which you need to rest as much as possible. To achieve this, you should hire a helper to support you in the pregnancy-motherhood transition. The million-dollar question is, should you hire a confinement nanny or a domestic helper? Well, most people confuse between these two, but the truth is that a confinement nanny is different from a domestic helper. Here is a detailed comparison of a confinement nanny vs domestic helper to help you make the right hiring decision.
1. Knowledge and Skills
A confinement nanny is knowledgeable and skilled in handling any new mom and newborn in terms of enhancing postpartum recovery. Usually, confinement agencies train their confinement nannies on all the things they need to do in their clients’ houses. For instance, preparing herbs for bathing, handling baby issues such as colic, as known as “wind,” and cooking confinement food.
On the other hand, a domestic helper is more skilled in handling household chores. She may not know much about new moms or their babies.
2. Duties and Responsibilities
For confinement nannies, their job description is kind of restricted to the mom and the baby. A confinement nanny takes care of all the needs of the mother and the baby during the recovery period. This may range from cooking for the mom, bathing the baby, washing the baby’s clothes, and feeding the baby. This means that a confinement nanny may not help other family members if they are present.
On the contrary, a domestic helper is somewhat general in her work. She can cook, clean, and run errands for the whole family. Although she has some skills for almost everything, her skills may not be adequate to take care of you and the baby in the right confinement requirements.
3. Flexibility
As much as a confinement nanny can be flexible in delivering her services, she will most likely only help you as a new mom until you recover. Also, many agencies like sending nannies to houses prior to the actual working to enable them to bond with the mom-to-be. That’s why you should always book early since you can rarely find a good confinement nanny on short notice. Most confinement nannies also stay with the mom and the baby during the recovery period.
Contrarily, domestic helpers are way more flexible. You can easily find a full-time, part-time, or freelance domestic helper within a short time.
4. When to Hire
Any new mom should hire a confinement nanny, preferably towards the end of the third trimester in her pregnancy. This is because confinement nannies are a resource in the postpartum recovery period, the period during which you need someone knowledgeable about babies. Confinement nannies also come in handy for first-time moms who probably have no clue about taking care of the baby.
Once you have fully recovered and your baby is all grown, you can now hire a domestic helper. She can help you in doing the general domestic chores, not just for you and the baby but for the whole family. A domestic helper can also help you during your pregnancy.
5. Work requirements
Generally, both confinement nannies and domestic helpers require a work permit to legally work for you. This is a requirement by the legal authorities to allow both local and foreign confinement nannies and domestic workers to offer their services. Therefore, make sure your nanny has a work permit before you hire her.
6. Hiring Process
Although their work is kind of similar, the hiring process can be different for confinement nannies and domestic helpers. Since a confinement nanny deals with much more sensitive work such as feeding the baby, a new mom may take extra measures before hiring her. For example, she can ask her to take more medical tests, have a face-to-face interview, provide next-of-keen contacts, and much more.
The hiring process can still be detailed and long for domestic helpers, but it’s nothing compared to that of confinement nannies. This is because a new mom needs someone she can trust with her baby.
Final Thoughts
Both confinement nannies and domestic helpers can play a great role in your home. You should weigh a confinement nanny vs domestic helper and decide on who is more appropriate to hire, depending on your state. If you’re not sure, call AGAPE Confinement Nannies we are here to help you.