To avoid getting up in the middle of the night for feedings. If you're formula feeding and would rather sleep through the night, at least in the early weeks of postpartum fatigue, a baby nurse, on duty twenty-four hours a day or hired just for nights, can take over or share this feeding responsibility with you and your spouse.

To give yourself a chance to recuperate after a Caesarean or difficult vaginal birth. Since you probably won't know if you're going to have a difficult time before hand, it's not a bad idea to do some scouting around for nurses in advance, just in case. If you have the name of a potential nurse or two, or at least have spoken to an agency, you can call shortly after you deliver and have a helper hired before you get home.

On the other hand, a baby nurse may not be the best solution to your postpartum needs if:

You're not comfortable with a stranger living in your home. If the idea of having a non-family member sharing your bathroom, your kitchen and your table twenty-four hours a day makes you uneasy, hire a part-time nurse rather than a live-in, or opt for one of the other sources of help.

Dad would rather do it, too. If you and your spouse are planning to share baby care, a nurse may get in the way. There may also not be much left for her to do - except to collect her paycheque - especially if dad's around full-time while he's enjoying paternity leave. In that case, the money could probably be more sensibly spent on cleaning help.

Some are gentle, motherly women who will nurture your innate mothering ability and leave you feeling more confident; others are bossy cold and patronizing and will leave you feeling totally inadequate. Many are qualified nurses: some have also been trained specifically in caring for mother as well as baby, in mother-child relations, and in teaching breastfeeding and child-care basics.

A personal interview is extremely important, since it's the only way to know whether you are going to feel comfortable with a particular candidate. But excellent references ( do check them out) are a must. A nurse hired through an agency should be registered. It's also very important that a nurse - or anyone else you hire who may come in contact with the baby - has been screened for TB. She should also be trained in CPR and child safety, as well as be up-to-date on baby-care practices (putting baby to sleep face up; keeping toys, pillows and blankets out of the cot. and so on)