[cantfindmyway]

Hi I am 29 and live in Missiouri and am thinking of going back to school to be a ob nurse.. I have no college under my belt yet .. Is this the kind of nurse I want to be??? I want to work in a doctors office helping the mother with her prenatel care or in a hospital helping monitor the delivery and being there during the birth, help the mother with questions, nursing the new baby etc... But dont want er or nicu duty... Is a ob nurse what I want??? What kind of degree and how long will it take to get??? what sort of classes do you have to take??? Thanks

[hartsbur]

hi,

i'm not actually a nurse now, so i can't help you with your question. but i wanted to write and say that you WILL find your way, you just haven't YET

[obgynlpn]

I am an LPN and I work in an OB/GYN clinic. We have 8 doctors and each doctor has their own LPN that works with them. They have ORT's to go to surgery to do stat sections....then the hospital staff the L&D nurses for deliveries. Good luck in your choices....

[cantfindmyway]

Okay is what I am looking for a labor and delivery nurse or a ob nurse?? What are the differences??? I dont want in surgery or anything in that order....Also can you find doctors or hospitals to work for that dont preform any sort of abortions. That would make my mind up so quick as to if this is the profession I would like to chose. I want no part of that....

[MommyLauraRN]

The types of nursing you're describing are very different.

1. Working in a doctor's office doing prenatal care etc: This is not acute care nursing, you do a lot more teaching and routine stuff. I believe you would be considered an ambulatory nurse and can be either an LPN or RN. It's a day job/office nursing.

2. Labor & delivery: This is acute care nursing. You never know what is going to walk through the door or how your shift is going to be. You would have to be willing to learn OR nursing in the event that you have to scrub or circulate during C-sections. I think everywhere you must be an RN to be a L&D nurse.

3. Maternity nursing: postpartum/newborns, antepartum care done on a hospital unit. More routine than L&D, but more acute that doctor's office nursing. Kind of a nice middle ground. You do a lot of teaching as far as breastfeeding etc. You can be an LPN or RN.

Some hospitals have LDRP rooms where you must be able to do both L&D and postpartum care. The patients don't deliver and then get transferred to another unit--they stay on one unit from arrival in labor until discharge with their baby.

When I think of an OB nurse, I think of hosptal nursing caring for prengant/delivering/postpartum women. JMO


As far as abortions are concerned, that is a whole different matter. Our hospital does terminations during second tri for things such as fetal anomolies because it is safer for these to be done at the hospital. We don't do first tri elective abortions. Nurses that have a tough time dealing with any termination usually are able to avoid them because we as nurses support each other. We have a few nurses that really prefer not to do any terminations for personal/religious reasons and someone else will take those patients . Plus, when any of us nurses are pregnant , it's easier for the patients to have a different nurse.

I guess what I'm really trying to say is we all look out for each other. Good luck to you in whatever you decide!