Longtime Lurker First Time Poster Looking for newborn-related CNA advice

[hellotherepine]

Hi all,

As mentioned in the title, I've been reading these forums for quite a while (they helped me along in becoming a CNA in late 2008), but have never actually posted. Nice to meet everyone! Hope you are all well today. Anyway, now that I have finished my program and taken my state boards (IL-- I live in Chicago), I have some questions surrounding the job hunt I was hoping you'd be willing assist in answering...

I am very interested in working with newborns, but during my clinicals, we were primarily on the telemetry floor and never had a chance to work with an age group outside the elderly. I want to be a midwife someday, but would like to gain experience with newborns and infants before heading off to nursing school, as I haven't babysat in years and have never worked with babies in a healthcare capacity...just want to have a better grasp of what I'm getting into. I am nervous about applying to a L&D or NICU ward due to my complete lack of experience with the younger age group. I know I'll receive some training during orientation, but I don't feel comfortable putting a newborn's life in my hands without feeling as if I have a proper knowledge basis on the subject.

So, I was just wondering if anyone knew of a good short-term training course along these lines in the Chicagoland area that would allow me to feel more comfortable pursuing the line of work I'm interested in. In addition, I'd really love to (eventually) provide home care for newborns and infants whose mothers are suffering postpartum depression or are post-operative, so any advice surrounding good agencies within Chicago that do this sort of work would be very much appreciated. I promise as soon as I gain some experience in my field, I'll contribute to the question-answering here! Any and all tips are helpful. Thanks so much :)

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Honestly, I've never heard of CNA's used with neonates.

[hellotherepine]

Thanks for your input. I've had a hard time finding info on it so far, but my CNA course instructor (who I'm waiting on an e-mail reply from re: this) mentioned this line of work in class, and I've also talked to several friends (albeit in other cities) who have utilized CNAs at home after C-sections. So yeah, guess I'm just looking for someone with experience there. I guess I'll just wait to hear from my instructor and continue from there. Thanks for the response. Best regards.

[Race Mom, ASN, RN]

The NICU I worked in used CNA's. They really were a lifesaver! Check into the NICU's in your area.