The Ultimate Infant Care Provider Glossary

If during your pregnancy you’ve found yourself deep in the research spiral of “who do I need on my birth and postpartum team?” we’ve got you covered. From doulas to night nurses to newborn care specialists, there’s a whole ecosystem of professionals out there ready to support you, and understanding their roles is key to getting the right care at the right time.

Here’s your quick and clear guide to the most common caregiver roles, what they do, and how they’re trained.

Doula

A doula is a non-medical support person who provides emotional, physical, and informational support during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. Doulas complete training programs through organizations like DONA International or EMBRACE doula training. Certification typically involves coursework, reading, hands-on practice, and client experience. There are different types of doulas you can hire to support you and your family during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postpartum.

Birth Doula

A birth doula provides continuous support during pregnancy, labor and delivery. They provide comfort techniques, advocate for your birth plan, and offer reassurance to both you and your partner. Birth doulas train specifically in labor support, often as part of general doula certification, with added focus on physiology of birth, interventions, pain management, and effective communication with medical teams.

Postpartum Doula

A postpartum doula supports families in the first weeks or months after birth. They provide direct infant care, as well recovery support for the birthing person and guide the whole family through  the emotional transition to parenthood. Training covers newborn care, maternal recovery, feeding support, and family adjustment. 

Night Doula

A night doula helps you get some much-needed sleep. They care for your baby overnight, supporting feedings and managing wakeups while also providing postpartum recovery support. Night doulas are trained in safe sleep, newborn soothing, lactation basics, and infant CPR, so that both you and your partner can sleep without being on call for baby duty. 

Day Doula

A day doula supports your family during daytime hours. They help with feeding, newborn soothing, sibling care, light housework, and give parents a chance to rest, or return to work, or shower without worrying about hearing the monitor through the water spray. Day and night doulas are both types of postpartum doulas; they have the same training with a focus on infant care and maternal recovery.

Full-Spectrum Doula

Full-spectrum doulas are qualified to work as both birth and postpartum doulas, and also provide support to people across the entire reproductive journey. This may include support during fertility treatments, miscarriage, abortion, and infant loss. Full-spectrum doula training includes traditional doula education plus modules on grief, trauma, loss, and inclusive reproductive care. 

Certified Doula

Certified Doula simply means the doula has completed a formal training and certification process, which may include courses, readings, exams, and hands-on work. Organizations like DONA, CAPPA, and ICEA offer well-regarded certification programs, and entitle doulas to use the credentials CD, or Certified Doula. It is not required to pursue certification to practice as a doula, so always ask your doula where they trained and what certification they hold, if any. If you are planning to use employer benefits from Carrot, Maven, or Prodigy you’ll need to work with a certified doula to pay for doula care.

Sibling Doula

A sibling doula supports older children while their parents are away for the birth. They may come to your home or stay with your child during labor and help ease the transition to big siblinghood. These doulas are often also birth or postpartum doulas, with additional training or experience in child development and sibling support.

Midwife

A midwife is a trained healthcare provider who offers prenatal care, attends births, and provides postpartum support. Midwives can deliver babies in hospitals, birth centers, or at a patient’s home. The primary difference between doulas vs midwives is that midwives have formal medical training and paths to licensure.

Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) have nursing degrees, while Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) or Licensed Midwives (LMs) do not have nursing degrees, but they have completed a midwifery program. This is an important distinction, because the ability for midwives to practice independently depends on their training and state-specific guidelines. 

Night Nanny

A night nanny, also known as an overnight nanny or newborn nanny, provides hands-on care for your baby overnight so you can sleep. They feed baby either from a bottle or by bringing baby to you to breastfeed or chestfeed, change diapers, and soothe your little one back to sleep. Training varies widely; some have nanny experience, while others take newborn-specific courses. Ask about night nanny candidates about their training, experience, and to speak with references to learn more about how they have supported other families like yours. 

Night Nurse

A night nurse, also called a baby nurse or postpartum nurse, is a non-medical newborn caregiver. Despite the name, a night nurse is not usually a trained nurse, so this term has fallen somewhat out of use. Like night nannies, a night nurse  may have training in newborn care. If you are looking for a home care professional who holds a nursing license, always ask for clarification.

Newborn Care Specialist

A newborn care specialist (NCS) is trained specifically to support infants in the first 12–16 weeks. They often work overnight shifts and help with sleep shaping, feeding, and baby-related education for parents. Many complete formal training through NCS-specific programs and accumulate hours of newborn care experience. Some newborn care specialists also hold certifications in infant CPR, sleep consulting, or lactation support.

Choosing the right caregiver comes down to your needs, lifestyle, and values. Whether you're looking for a birth coach, someone to hold the baby at 3 a.m., or support through grief or transition, there's a professional trained to support that moment.

Not sure where to start? At Partum Health, we help match families with the right caregivers, whether that’s a birth doula, a day doula to support your recovery or a postpartum night doula for overnight shifts to help you get better rest.