Because the need for care never stops, neither do we !

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Baby Care Child care Home Care Night Nursing

International Nurses Day 2021

To mark this year’s International Nurses Day on May 12th, we’ve asked three of Nightingale’s nurses to share a glimpse of their typical day and tell us what they love most about the job.

Malin Ghavami (Head Midwife)

My day frequently starts with a home visit to new mums, usually when their little one is less than four days old.  We discuss the delivery and their recovery, and I offer any help and encouragement they need about things like feeding techniques, monitoring the baby’s weight and progress. After each visit, I write up my notes and tell the family when I’ll be visiting them next.

nurse malin
nurse malin

Afterwards, I schedule baby massage sessions for infants who are a few weeks old and sometimes a postnatal massage for their mums. I also manage the nurses in the community, so I dedicate time to training, or we have a general catch-up meeting. Training topics range from perfecting swaddling techniques to discussing clients’ specific needs and how best to address them.

As the day winds down, my colleagues and I discuss the schedule and requirements for the next day, although that can change entirely when a little one needs special attention earlier than planned.

I chose to be a nurse because I wanted a profession that I could be proud of, where I can positively impact people’s lives, be it the mummies or their sweet little babies. There’s no better feeling.

Julia Youll (Public Health Practitioner)

I wanted to be a nurse ever since I was six years old and was given a nurse’s uniform for Christmas, complete with a medical bag.  My grandfather was a GP and I was fascinated by the surgery and all the paraphernalia (in those days kept at his home). As soon as I turned 17, I started applying to teaching hospitals in London.

We were trained at the hospital and had a lot of practical time on the wards, interspersed by study blocks.

nurse julia
nurse julia

We certainly weren’t supernanny as students in those days, and we wore stiff starched detachable collars, cotton frilly caps and proper aprons!

I usually start my morning checking in with the families that I’m supporting with sleep problems, and it’s always great to hear that a good night has been achieved. Everyone has a new lease of life when they’re feeling rested.

My home visits (or calls) usually take place in the afternoons. It’s really productive to see babies and their parents in their home environment. After an hour or so’s discussion, I go away and create a plan for families to work with. This is tailor-made, specific to each one’s circumstances and dynamics. Follow-up may entail tweaking the plan, or looking at different ideas, but in general, a family without sleep deprivation is a happier one. Even a small change can make a huge difference.

Hermina (Nurse)

nurse hermina
nurse hermina

Working as a nurse at Nightingale gives me the opportunity to support families during an incredibly important yet challenging time ,and it’s wonderful to see them experience so many beautiful firsts together.

Baby Afra, born earlier this year, was premature and underweight. She was so small and delicate. The first time I held her, I could feel her vulnerability and how much love and care she needed. I fed her every three hours with precise measurements of milk and the correct feeding technique, checking her weight every ten days. She started gaining weight and every day she amazed us with her smile. Now, when I look at her playing and giggling, I can’t explain the happiness I feel having being part of her life. Moments like these are why I decided to become a nurse.

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Baby Care

A day in the life of Malin Ghavami – Head Midwife

Let’s hear what Malin – our head midwife has to say about her job!

What made you decide to be a midwife?

I always knew I wanted to work with something that involves interacting with people, coaching, teaching and caring, so the choice of education was easy for me, my goal was to become a pediatric doctor, but the road was too long at that time. There is also a vast variety in my job as a community midwife which is important to me as I know I have the tendency to get a bit fidgety if still for too long! Also, my passion for babies is unlimited.

What do you most enjoy about your job?

Every day is a different day for me and that’s how I like it, every baby and Mum have their own requests and as a result of that, every day I learn something new, I learn a new skill and I am often tested, this is something that humbles me, and that suits my personality perfect!

Is there a typical Career path for a midwife?

I would say no, Midwifes comes in all shapes with different backpacks filled up with different experiences, I have worked as a barista, hotel receptionist, waitress, ski instructor, personal assistant, anesthetic nurse, pediatric ward, before I started my career as a midwife.

What are the tricky parts with your job?

With the great happiness of having a baby also comes the underlying knowledge that not all childbirths will go as planned. Part of a midwife’s role is to support families through difficult times, such as having a sick child, a mother going through a hard baby blues or maybe even developed a postnatal depression, you need to use all of your senses and abilities to create useful tools for the families that they can use in order to make things easier or better.

What is the strangest/funniest/best experience you’ve had training to be a midwife?

Well that must be when I was working in labour room and we delivered an albino baby with white hair for an Emirati family in Dubai, the grandma looked at the baby and looked at me and said – mashalla he looks just like her, and she touched and smelled my hair constantly.

* Malin Ghavami is a Head midwife and provides Baby massage services, Prenatal education, Postnatal training and Postnatal fitness Classes

nurse malin

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Babysitting

What to consider while choosing a babysitter for your child.

quality babysitter
quality babysitter

In-home, Babysitter is a much sought after service in a fast-paced city like Dubai. No wonder with both parents working these days and hardly any member or a relative at home to care for the baby, parents are turning towards a professional baby daycare in Dubai or hiring an in-home babysitter. Is that your story as well, particularly if you are a working parent and settled in Dubai? In order to meet such a growing demand, there are no dearth babysitters in your city of Dubai but what you need to ensure is that your babysitter is an expert at her job. We hope that the checklist provided by us will help you get the ideal babysitter for your child.

Before we get to the qualities of a babysitter and the services that can be expected out of her it is important to note that her roles and responsibilities vary depending upon the age of your baby. An infant would require more monitoring, assistance with daily chores, whereas a little more grown-up kid would require the babysitter to play and engage in various learning activities with the baby. So, depending on the age of your baby and his requirement, you should go for a babysitter.

QUALITIES OF A BABYSITTER

  • Health and Hygiene
  • Playfulness
  • Trust
  • Experience

Health and Hygiene

Health and hygiene should be the first in the priority list while choosing your babysitter. Ask your babysitter questions about her ideas and practices of maintaining the good health of the baby and a good environment at home. You should also ensure that your babysitter is on an off during the time she is herself suffering from ill-health. This way you can avoid any contagious infection being contracted to your child from the babysitter.

Playfulness

Your babysitter should be of charming nature and innovative to be able to invent new games for your baby and keep him/her engaged. Through these games, she should be able to make your baby learn a lot of new things. It will be great if she is a storyteller. She can impart knowledge by means of these stories. Ultimately, it’s the most productive time for your baby from the point of view of brain and personality development. Several in-home care agencies and baby daycare in Dubai appoints babysitters who are trained in personality development of children and serves as your child’s first and most important tutor.

Trust

Trust and responsibility are overriding factors for you being able to hand over your child in the hands of a babysitter. Your babysitter is the one who should be able to make parenting an exciting experience. If after a long day’s work sometimes you want to go outside your home to spend some personal time as a couple, the worry for your baby should not be at the back of your head. On the contrary, you should feel that your baby is in safe hands in your absence. Most in-home agencies these days ensure that a thorough background check is done of the babysitter employed at your home and is a certified professional. The in-home care agency also ensures that they are in contact with your babysitter in your absence. However and trust and responsibility are something beyond monitoring and your babysitter should be a responsible person even by nature. You should be able to find that out as you get to meet the babysitter a couple of times before you decide to appoint her. A babysitter agency today provides such trials for a better understanding of each other by both parties. Compatibility with you and even with your child are also other criteria that should be focused upon before you make a decision of appointing a babysitter. The relationship with a babysitter is often longstanding, something that is cherished even after your child has entered into a school going age.

Experience

What’s most valuable in a babysitter is the experience she possesses in handling kids. She has more knowledge than parents in dealing with challenges that a child may face and fairs like none during unwarranted situations. A babysitter provided by agencies are knowledgeable and also imparts it to the child how to save oneself during a natural disaster. She is the first tutor of the child who helps the child develop his personality, learn discipline and punctuality. The nanny or the babysitter should be able to wield her authority in the mildest manner for the child to develop healthy habits like brushing his own teeth, having his food on time etc. Some babysitters are even guides on matters of the diet of the child. In a loving and friendly manner, she should also inculcate values in the child to be able to socialise with others.

Be it an in-home care agency or a child daycare, ensure that you are aware of the roles and responsibilities, checks and balances before making your final decision to appoint a babysitter.

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