Labor and Delivery Nurse

Labor and delivery (L&D) nurses provide care to women and their newborn babies.  As part of the health care team, these nurses provide individual care to patients through monitoring of the mother and baby.  Teaching patients about care of themselves and their infant is a primary focus of L&D nursing.  Nurses in L&D also provide emotional support to the patient and the family.

Some of the different roles a Labor and Delivery nurse may have include: 

Some nurses further specialize and become nurses in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), an intensive care area that specializes in the care and treatment of seriously ill newborns and premature babies.

Nurses can even become Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM).  A nurse midwife is a registered nurse with advanced education and clinical training who is qualified to deliver health care to women before, during, and after giving birth.  These nurses often remain with a woman for the entire labor and delivery.

Being a L&D nurse requires a high level of critical thinking skills and communication skills in addition to empathy.  In addition, L&D nurses are usually also required to be certified in neonatal resuscitation.

Hospitals may require previous experience on a general medical unit or may hire a new graduate of an accredited nursing program with RN license.

Professional Associations:

National Association of Neonatal Nurses
4700 W. Lake Avenue
Glenview, IL  60025-1485
800-451-3795 or 847-375-3660
FAX: 888-477-6266
e-mail: info@nann.org
Web site: www.nann.org

Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
2000 L St., NW, Suite 740
Washington, DC  20036
202-261-2413
FAX: 202-728-0575
Web site: www.awhonn.org

American College of Nurse Midwives
8403 Colesville Road, Suite 1550
Silver Spring, MD 20910-6374
Phone: 240-485-1800
Fax: 240-485-1818
Web site: www.acnm.org

Source:

http://www.nursesource.org/labor.html