Labor and Delivery Nurse
By: Jazlynn Ramirez
Career Description
Labor and delivery nurses care for women and their infants during labor and childbirth. They are responsible for assisting, supporting and educating women during the four stages of delivery: antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum and neonatal.
Daily Tasks:
- Providing support for the mother during labor
- Monitoring the fetal heart rate, and mother’s vital signs
- Measuring the strength and timing of contractions
- Administering medications and performing diagnostic tests
- Consulting with physicians and other members of the care team
- Assisting with inducing labor
- Coaching the mother during delivery
- Identifying and assisting with complications
- Assisting with various procedures, including Cesarean sections
- Monitoring and performing tests on newborns
- Providing education and support to mothers and families after delivery
Job skills: Advanced nursing skills and experience to provide professional and technical care to patients.
Salary: Average salary of $66,640 for registered nurses.
Work environment: The environment is fast-paced and multifaceted, with conditions and duties that can change quickly throughout a shift. Labor and delivery nurses may work rotating shifts, nights, weekends and holidays.
Career connections: Labor and Delivery Nurses have connections to -
- Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
- Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
- Cardiovascular Operating Room (CVOR)
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
- Operating Room (OR)
- Emergency Room (ER)
- Telemetry (Tele)
- Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU)
- Pediatrics (Pedi)
- Progressive Care Unit (PCU)
High School Prep
Related courses:
- Child development
- Human development
- Child care
- Personal Chef
- Medical Careers
- Biology AP
- Chemistry AP
- Physics AP
- Interact club
- Kindness club
- Speech
- Service club
- FBLA
- Operation Snowball
- Peer leaders
- National Honor Society
- Feed my starving children
- Community service
- Observe a doctor
- Volunteer at a retirement home
Post-Secondary Plan
3 college options:
- Loyola University
- Augustana University
- Dominican University
All three colleges have a high acceptance rate, are in the area, and have a good class size.
Possible Majors:
- Major in Nursing
- Biology Major
Day in the Life of a Labor & Delivery Nurse