How to become a labor and delivery nurse??

vintage_RN, BSN, RN · Jan 19, 2014

It isn't as easy as you make it sound, unfortunately. I would do your research and look around this website. The US is saturated with new nurses and many of them cannot find jobs in any area, let alone in a specialty such as L&D. L&D is a notoriously hard specialty to get into, and rarely has job openings. Many nurses in these areas stay there until they retire. If you want to become a nurse, that's great (I love nursing!)...but you need to be realistic that you may not get a job in L&D..and would have to work in whatever you can get. Best of luck to you.

Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN · Jan 19, 2014

Congratulations on the start of your new family and hopefully the beginning of a fulfilling career in nursing.

RN - the title of registered nurse is given to those who successfully complete nursing school (ASN/Diploma/BSN) and pass the NCLEX-RN examination

BSN - the BSN RN completes college at a 4-year institution, currently the nation is seeing a trend in employers hiring BSN prepared nurses.

ADN/ASN - this RN completes their study at the community college level or hospital based nursing school. They must also pass NCLEX-RN to become licensed.

Personally I chose to go the ADN/ASN route because funds were limited and I had to work through nursing school to support myself.

I recommend going through the community college level because you have a child and may not be able to devote so many hours to a full-time course load. At the community college you will most likely have to take pre-requisites in English (I&II), Psychology (General & Developmental), Sociology, Anatomy & Physiology (I & II), Chemistry, and Microbiology. Once you have completed these courses you can begin your actual nursing courses. Usually this may take about 3.5 years to complete.

I wish you the best of luck!

eb9411 · Jan 19, 2014

Thank you for the POSITIVE outlook and information :)

klone, MSN, RN · Jan 19, 2014

Well, we would be remiss if we didn't describe the grim realities of the nursing job market right now. Right now, in most parts of the country, new grad RNs are searching 6-12 months, sometimes longer, for ANY nursing job. It's true that L&D is a very high demand unit and very difficult to get into (but not all of us work there until we retire, I'm a case in point).

Elle23 · Jan 19, 2014

Thank you for the POSITIVE outlook and information :)

Well, do you want the truth or not?

We could all do a happy song and dance for you, but that won't help if you don't understand the dismal prospects of many new graduate nurses in 2014.

Personally, I would want to be fully informed before investing so much time and energy into something.

FLAlleycat · Jan 19, 2014

Keep in mind, too, that it will be several years before you are actually IN the job market. Many of the baby boomer L&D nurses are nearing retirement. (Probably 25% of the nurses in my unit will be retiring within 3 years; more in 5 years.) You may want to research online percentage of L&D nurses planning to retire in 3/5/whatever many years. Many hospitals, however, are now requiring a bachelor's degree in nursing rather than adn/asn, so be sure to research that when considering which way to go. Of course, you could take the basic two-year classes (English, science, history, math, social sciences) at your local community college (cheaper) and then transfer to a college offering a bachelor's. It can be difficult to get into L&D, again depending on the market when you have your license. Many L&D nurses start on postpartum. Good luck! If you were graduating right now, no matter what your area of study, finding a job any where would be difficult.

NicuGal, MSN, RN · Jan 19, 2014

Does your community college offer a partnership program with a 4 year degree? I would go formate BSN, it will make you more marketable.

anon456, BSN, RN · Jan 19, 2014

I would encourage you to explore the idea of doula certification. It's a much shorter path and it will allow you to support the emotional needs of the laboring woman without needing to worry about the medical needs. I was training to be a doula for awhile before I got into nursing school. It was extremely rewarding. I attended two home births and two hospital births and got to watch the midwife at work, as well as the nurses in the hospital births (one was a homebirth transfer).

I know two L&D nurses, and I think like nursing in general, you realize once you get into the career that it's more about medical needs and charting and patient safety than the warm fuzzy caring that I *wish* we had more time to do. My L&D nurses do a lot of c-sections, inductions, epidurals, and they are so busy managing the medical needs that they feel unfulfilled to spend as much time as they want to supporting the laboring mom with her emotional needs. They are often managing two patients at the same time, and sometimes they have to leave one in order to attend to the other one's c-section. They also will change shifts without seeing their patients' babies being born.

A doula stays with the same laboring mom through the entire labor and birth. The doula also can do follow-up care, breastfeeding support, and even visit the new mom at home and help with housework, meals preps if you sign up to be a postpartum doula as well as a birth doula.

ORNerd, BSN, RN · Jan 19, 2014

I like what anon said about the doula certification. I have never worked in L&D and honestly never would. Please remember that L&D has a dark side, it's not always rainbows and sunshine. You may see very young mothers, babies born addicted to drugs, unfortunate family situations requiring CPS involvement, stillbirths or even moms that die due to complications. It happens. I only say these things because I feel like a lot of potential nurses say they want to go into L&D without really giving it any thought. I was this way too and I also had the experience of labor backing me up.

It's important to want to be a nurse, just a nurse, not an L&D nurse or a pediatric nurse or an OR nurse. What everyone above me has said about the job market for new grads is unfortunately true, so you will most likely need to be applying to anything and everything at first. It's fine to want to specialize but try and keep an open mind, especially since it will most likely take a few years for you to get into L&D. Nursing has so many options; you may find yourself loving something totally unexpected. I found my home in orthopaedics and I never pictured myself working in that specialty when I was a student.

I truly commend you for wanting to get an education for yourself and your new family. I had my son when I was right in the middle of nursing school, so just know that it can be done if you work hard. If you can afford it, I would get your BSN. If not, get your ADN and try to find an employer that offers tuition benefits for completing your BSN. I wish you the best of luck.

anon456, BSN, RN · Jan 20, 2014

It's important to want to be a nurse, just a nurse, not an L&D nurse or a pediatric nurse or an OR nurse.
Nursing has so many options; you may find yourself loving something totally unexpected. I found my home in orthopaedics and I never pictured myself working in that specialty when I was a student.

Amen to all of what you said, but especially what I quoted above. I NEVER wanted to do peds in nursing school. I liked the idea of working with older people. But I got the peds job. I found a very special area in peds working with trach/vent kids with brain injuries, babies, and step-down ICU. Not the poster children for the hospital all cute and done up nice. These kids are the other side of the peds world. And I love it.

DoGoodThenGo · Jan 20, 2014

I graduated high school last spring and just had my first child. Now that I have started my family I find it really important to get an education. I have always been interested in the medical field, just never knowing what I truly wanted. I think I have found my calling...I want to be a labor and delivery nurse! After going through labor myself i know that is where I belong. The only problem here is that I have no idea where to start. Do I go to community college or a nursing school? What is the difference between an RN, ASN(or ADN) , and BSN? Can you go to school for nursing part time?
Please help!!!!!

Really nothing more to add against the excellent advice you've been given already except this: you are not the first female that wanted to become a nurse because of a positive experience. While that in of itself is all very well you must consider things from the other side of the stirrups. *LOL*

L&D is deemed one of the high risk for medical and nursing practice because there is quite a lot at stake. You have two patients, one you can see the other you cannot. Decisions and or actions taken (or not) can have life altering effects on one or both. In short it is not all just cooing at babies and assisting soon to be moms through their special day.

The nurses who attended your birth probably have years if not decades of experience under their belts. Thus as with any other well seasoned professional made things seem *easy* and or very routine, but the reality is often different.

By all means keep your passion as it is what will get you through nursing school and help you cope until you've landed your "dream" job. As already pointed out before you can become a "L&D" nurse you first must become one, and that often in of itself is a long hard slog these days. Afterwards you've go to pass the boards then finally start working somewhere.

In the meantime why not see if any local hospitals have volunteer programs that allow you some contact with maternity floors. Or, perhaps look into become a nursing assistant with an eye to working on same. Either way it is not a totally bad idea to get a real life peek at nursing as a whole before seeking to enter the profession. I say this not to discourage but point out that the reality of what nurses do versus what patients see or think is often great. That reality is enough of a cold slap on the face to send even the most dedicated and inspired nursing student and or newly licensed RN running for the nearest exit.

Finally another option depending upon your local market might be a LPN/LVN working as a private duty nurse. This of course is a whole other ball of wax.