What Is A Labor And Delivery Nurse? | NurseJournal.org (2024)

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What Is A Labor And Delivery Nurse? | NurseJournal.org? ›

Labor and delivery nurses have specialized clinical duties such as monitoring fetal heart tones, identifying risks for pregnant individuals and newborns, and assessing the progress of labor. They also might assist in the operating room during cesarean sections, administer medications, and provide emotional support.

A labor and delivery (L&D) nurse supports patients during and after birth under the supervision of a nurse midwife or physician. They also care for infants immediately after delivery.

OB nursing is broader than labor and delivery, caring for mothers throughout pregnancy, through labor, and after delivery (antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum care). While an OB nurse can assist with labor and delivery, their skills and training encompass a broader skill set.

L&D nurses will tell you it is hard but rewarding work. The hours can be long. L&D nurses generally work 12-hour shifts. But because of the bond they form with the laboring patient, it's not unusual for nurses to stay past their shift change to be there when the baby is born.

They're trained to monitor both the mother and baby and recognize potential problems that can happen during or after childbirth. L&D nurses assist during both vagin*l births and c-sections. Labor and delivery nurses may also provide postpartum or newborn care depending on the hospital.

A day in the life of a labor and delivery nurse

As a labor and delivery nurse, you can go from taking vitals during a pregnancy wellness checkup to assisting with active labor. Other daily responsibilities can include: Administering medications and immunizations.

Labor and delivery nurses are in high demand. There are nearly 3.6 million births recorded in the United States every year, and most of those births are assisted by a labor and delivery nurse. That brings a significant amount of job security to the career path as well as the ability to negotiate for better pay.

Labor and delivery nurses have specialized clinical duties such as monitoring fetal heart tones, identifying risks for pregnant individuals and newborns, and assessing the progress of labor. They also might assist in the operating room during cesarean sections, administer medications, and provide emotional support.

An associate degree in nursing (ADN), diploma in nursing or bachelor's degree in nursing must be obtained, although some employers may require a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). While completing the required courses for a BSN, aspiring L&D nurses may consider taking electives related to an L&D specialty.

Midwives have helped women to deliver babies for centuries and they were present at most births until the early twentieth century. Today, more than 12% of all births, both vagin*l and C-section, in the U.S. are delivered by certified nurse-midwives.

Do labor and delivery nurses give shots? ›

After Delivery: Once the baby is born, the labor and delivery nurse will perform all necessary tests and assessments on the baby and administer any needed injections or medications.

Specially trained registered nurses can safely manage epidural analgesia infusion in laboring patients.

Overall, being an intensive care unit nurse is not for the faint of heart, and it just may be one of the hardest nursing specialties out there.

The highest-paid labor and delivery nurses in the U.S. are employed in California. The average labor and delivery nurse salary in California is $48.66 an hour, $8,430 a month, or $101,210 a year.

“The post-birth period is a really important time for bonding with your baby, while the nursing team is also monitoring your baby closely to make sure they're adjusting as expected to life outside the womb,” says Monica Svets, MD, an ob-gyn at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

These include neonatal nurses, who care for mothers immediately before, during, and after labor; and labor and delivery nurses, who focus on providing care during delivery. Unlike those specialists, an OB nurse provides care starting during the early stages of pregnancy or even when a woman is trying to conceive.

Nurses are responsible for recognizing patients' symptoms, taking measures within their scope of practice to administer medications, providing other measures for symptom alleviation, and collaborating with other professionals to optimize patients' comfort and families' understanding and adaptation.

Nurses administer and titrate medications during labor, such as oxytocin. Nurses monitor the vital signs, pain scores, and labor progression of women and fetuses closely and are responsible for recognizing and then notifying physicians and midwives when abnormalities arise.

Ensure that the client will have a support person in labor. Assess the imminence of birth.

In addition, the nurse assesses the following: vital signs, physical exam, contraction pattern (frequency, interval, duration, and intensity), intactness of membranes through a vagin*l exam, and fetal well-being through fetal heart rate, characteristic of amniotic fluid, and contractions.