Any advice on entering the world of OB?

[aubmom.rn]

i am an rn with a bsn and 5 years of acute medical/surgical, orthopedic and oncology experience. i have my chemo provider certification. i did home health for about 7 months. i currently work in a quasi-leadership role (i'm the only rn) at a radiology imaging center, primarily in mri, ct and nuclear medicine. i also work at a kaiser hospital on a med/surg/ortho/onc floor. i am tired of med/surg!!! i started in med surg upon recommendation from my professor at school to get a solid foundation in skills and time management. i figured i'd do a couple years until i got confident, and then venture off into something else. i never wanted to make a career of it. but then the economy tanked, and jobs got scarce and extremely competitive and i feel stuck.

i always knew women's health is where my interest was, specifically in prenatal/postnatal care and labor & delivery. i have considered (since nursing school) the possibility of getting a master's in midwifery. i certainly tend more towards natural child birth practices, although i would be fine working in a hospital setting labor & delivery as well. i recently pursued my passion for lactation and got a lactation specialist level certification and would love to continue towards ibclc, although nothing lucrative has come of this certification. only that i now am a great resource for all my friends.

how do i enter the world of women's health??? i have to continue working at this point in time. our finances will not allow me to quit work and go back to school for example. i have been told by the ob manager at kaiser hospital that i would only be considered for a training position, same as the new grads. the last time they offered this, there were over 800 applicants for three spots!!! and they don't intend to open any more until fall at the earliest. i have applied at various times to l&d and postpartum positions at my local hospitals (sonoma county) and have never even gotten an interview.

any personal experience or advice would be greatly appreciated at this point. i feel like i'm in a career midlife crisis. i do like the job i have with radiology, but i'm so sick of med-surg and radiology is getting me no closer to women's health. help!! (sorry so long)