How is the mother-baby/postpartum experience and typical day like?

klone, MSN, RN · Mar 17, 2013

The pay is wholly dependent upon where one lives,.

M/B-RN · Mar 17, 2013

My typical day starts with report. Then I go meet all of my patients. I then plan my day of who I will see first. If I have anyone due to void they go to the top of my list. Then any fresh post-op patients are next. I go to each room, assess mom by getting a set of vitals and then the postpartum assessment, medicate mom if indicated. Then I assess her baby by again doing vital signs and a head to to assessment.

I work nights, and a lot of patients get AM blood draws, also any fresh c-section patients get up in the AM, so I assist them with that.

In between, there are call lights, doctors calling, new orders, admissions, baby blood draws, sometimes transferring a newborn to special care, every so often a postpartum hemorrhage, assisting patients with breastfeeding, feeding babies that moms don't want in the room, medicating people, checking labs, etc.

Other types of patients we get are antepartums (hyperemesis, post-op appy or other surgeries, fevers, diabetic education, abdominal pain, and just about any pregnant patient that steps foot into the hospital that needs to be monitored), patients who had an IUFD, and patients who had a hysterectomy.

It is not an easy unit, but your patients are mostly ambulatory and not in a critical condition. Emergencies to happen, but for the most part your day is full of busy work. It's a rewarding place to work. I started as a new grad and I am so thankful that I was able to get a job in Postpartum without any experience.

PinkNBlue, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2013

My typical day starts with report. Then I go meet all of my patients. I then plan my day of who I will see first. If I have anyone due to void they go to the top of my list. Then any fresh post-op patients are next. I go to each room, assess mom by getting a set of vitals and then the postpartum assessment, medicate mom if indicated. Then I assess her baby by again doing vital signs and a head to to assessment.
I work nights, and a lot of patients get AM blood draws, also any fresh c-section patients get up in the AM, so I assist them with that.
In between, there are call lights, doctors calling, new orders, admissions, baby blood draws, sometimes transferring a newborn to special care, every so often a postpartum hemorrhage, assisting patients with breastfeeding, feeding babies that moms don't want in the room, medicating people, checking labs, etc.
Other types of patients we get are antepartums (hyperemesis, post-op appy or other surgeries, fevers, diabetic education, abdominal pain, and just about any pregnant patient that steps foot into the hospital that needs to be monitored), patients who had an IUFD, and patients who had a hysterectomy.
It is not an easy unit, but your patients are mostly ambulatory and not in a critical condition. Emergencies to happen, but for the most part your day is full of busy work. It's a rewarding place to work. I started as a new grad and I am so thankful that I was able to get a job in Postpartum without any experience.

I could have written this myself :) And agreed. It's the best!

BSNbeauty, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2013

2 more weeks til I start in PP. Can. Not. Wait!!!!

roni1990 · Oct 11, 2013

Thank you all! Do you think it would be hard for me to get hired in an OB floor or even nursery as a new grad? I love working with moms and babies. I was considering med-surge or telemetry but I'm kinda scared of the stress and fast-paced environment even though some say it's a good place to start.

►that_funky♪&# · Oct 13, 2013

From the OB nurses I just talked to, they usually do prefer you to have some prior experience in another dept so you know how to handle patients, medications, and get a rapport with all types of patients. The soonest one of those nurses got into OB was after a year of experience in the field, but, as people have stated on here, it does happen from time to time right after nursing school; those ones are lucky!

RN520 · Oct 14, 2013

One week for me!! Yippeee!!

NewMotherBabyRN · Oct 24, 2013

At least try!! I heard it was near impossible but was hired as a Mother/Baby (Postpartum) RN as a new grad - and have 2 new grads hired in NICU and two in L&D in my orientation class!

RN-BSNheather · Oct 24, 2013

Definitely try!!! I got found out I got a job as mom/baby nurse as a new grad (graduate in December). I was turned down a couple of places because of my new grad status but I preserved and I landed a job in one of my dream areas.