A newborn care specialist focuses on all aspects of a newborn baby’s care in the first 3 to 4 months, offering physical care, advice on newborn development, and help in setting up daily routines. It is a newborn care specialist’s job to educate parents after the birth of their babies about the best ways to care for them. This often involves explaining feeding, sleeping habits, what to do once they go home, and similar matters. They often work night shifts to allow parents to have much-needed sleep, while also checking a baby's sleeping, feeding, and changing times to help switch them to a regular schedule. Unlike babysitters and other caregivers, NCSs do not take on any duties aside from caring for a newborn and educating new parents.

After the primary qualifications, newborn care specialist training starts, in which they must work with newborns and get any licenses or certifications required in that area. They come from a diversity of professional backgrounds, including nannies, nurses, daycare providers, and mothers, and most families are flexible about the exact background as long as they have a lot of experience working with children. The exception to this is families with terminally ill babies, as they may prefer experience in nursing. This job is often limited to women even if the job listing does not state as much, though men, especially those with nursing experience, may infrequently find an opening. Fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of a newborn care specialist requires knowledge of the problems infants can experience, eloquence, patience, and flexibility. Some specialists have been trained to help with sleep training and are able to provide extensive information on colic/reflux in infants and they are available to provide consultations on other issues that might arise with infants.