Let Mommy Sleep founder Denise Iacona Stern has been selected to present her policy paper on gaps in U.S. newborn care oversight at the Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Conference this September, calling for national standardization of the largely unregulated in-home newborn care profession.
FAIRFAX, Va., July 16, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Denise Iacona Stern, Founder and CEO of Let Mommy Sleep, has been selected to present her workforce policy paper, The State of Newborn Care in the United States: Gaps in Oversight and the Need for Standardization, at the Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Conference this September. The paper, published on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), is the first systematic landscape analysis of the U.S. in-home newborn care profession and the regulatory gaps that leave families and caregivers without meaningful oversight or protection.
Cribs for Kids® is the national nonprofit organization that certifies hospitals, health departments and individuals in evidence-based infant safe sleep practices. Selection to present at its national conference represents independent third-party recognition of the paper's clinical relevance and policy significance.
About the Paper
The in-home newborn care profession remains largely unregulated in most U.S. states. Anyone can call themselves a night nanny, newborn care specialist, postpartum doula, or baby nurse without training, certification, background screening or vaccination. Families have no reliable way to verify caregiver qualifications, and caregivers have no professional protections or standards to point to.
The first six weeks after hospital discharge are the most vulnerable period for both mothers and newborns, according to the World Health Organization. Pediatric visits are frequent during this window, but postpartum maternal care is almost entirely unsupported by the formal healthcare system.
"The in-home newborn care profession has been operating in a regulatory vacuum for decades," said Denise Iacona Stern. "Families are hiring caregivers with no way to verify credentials, and too many caregivers work without standards for basic safety, including safe sleep. We're honored to present at the Cribs for Kids Conference, because this paper makes the case for accountability and safer care across the industry."
The State of Newborn Care in the United States: Gaps in Oversight and the Need for Standardization is available on SSRN. Additional context and resources are available at newborncarecertified.com/the-state-of-newborn-care.
About Let Mommy Sleep
Let Mommy Sleep has supported families across 26 territories nationwide since 2010 through a network of Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, night nannies and newborn care specialists. Registered Nurses provide in-home postpartum visits during the family's first week home, followed by ongoing overnight care from NAPS-certified night nannies.
Every NAPS-certified caregiver holds the NAPS Night Doula Certificate, an evidence-based credential developed by Let Mommy Sleep's clinical team and reviewed by an independent Advisory Board of Registered Nurses, IBCLC's and public health experts. Credentialing requires CPR training, Safe Sleep certificate and vaccination attestation; standards not required outside of the network. The certificate is tied to a Fairfax County, Virginia government contract awarded from 2015 to 2021, with curriculum available in English and Spanish through Newborn Care Academy. Graduates are listed on the National Night Doula Registry, the only verifiable public directory of credentialed newborn care specialists.
Let Mommy Sleep has also submitted a 2026 proposal to Loudoun County for newborn and postpartum preparation programming, continuing the organization's track record of public-sector engagement in Virginia. Let Mommy Sleep is the recipient of the TITAN Award for Women in Business 2025 and the Mom's Choice Award 2025, and has been recognized by The Washington Post, the Associated Press, ABC News, and TODAY.
Media Contact
Patty Grajales, Communications Assistant, Let Mommy Sleep, 1 7036798434, [email protected], https://letmommysleep.com
SOURCE Let Mommy Sleep
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