is there a major difference between ob, midwife, and l&d nurses?

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Is there a difference between a labor and delivery nurse and a midwife? Or are they basically the same?

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OB's or Obstetricians are Doctors/Physician's/MD's, Midwives are advanced practice nurses MSN with a specialty in Midwifery CNM, and L&D nurses are RN's that specialize in the maternity population, you do not necisarily have to have an advanced degree to be an L&D nurse.

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Thanks. I appreciate it.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

It also varies by country. For example, what we call "OB nurses" in the USA are "midwife nurses" often, in the UK. In the USA, an L and D nurse does not have the same scope of practice as the Certified Nurse Midwife, for example. The CNM is an advanced practice nurses who in many states, not only provides primary care to well women and women who are pregnant, delivers babies, but also has prescriptive authority as well. The level of education is more advanced, as well. The CNM has completed her master's degree and post-master's certification in order to be able to practice under that title.

I hope this helps. As I said, this applies to the USA.

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OB's = Baby catchers who double as surgeons. (LOTS AND LOTS OF school)

Midwives= Baby catches.. some are nurses some are not (Depends on what type of midwives, Nurses have lots of school, others lots of training... usually)

L&D Nurses= Assistant to baby catchers, and occasionally a baby catcher when the other ones don't show up fast enough ;) (2-4 year degree usually)

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So what do OB nurses do? Do they do L&D, mother/baby, nursery, or all 3?

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it depends on where you work... some places do all three, others do each separately

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Specializes in learning disabilities/midwifery.
It also varies by country. For example, what we call "OB nurses" in the USA are "midwife nurses" often, in the UK.

Just being picky because its a bug bear of mine but just wanted to say that there are no 'midwife nurses' in the UK.

Here nursing and midwifery and 2 totally different individual professions we have completely different routes to qualification and nurses cant work as midwives and midwives cant work as nurses.

In the UK only midwives can work within obstetrics (other than some nurses who provide purely post operative care for post section women) and we are the main care providers for women with normal healthy pregnancies (these women will often never see a doctor, only midwives)

Hope that helps.

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