What specialty/job would this be?

anh06005, MSN, APRN, NP · Jan 26, 2015

I think L&D nursing is a definite possibility even for new grads. L&D isn't like any other nursing specialty so I don't see much preparing you for it. On med surg you'd take care of UTI's, pneumonia, COPD, MI, CHF, etc....none of which you'd really see in L&D. You would get some SKILL experience and blood administration might cross over...other than that I don't see much (though some may point out something different).

As far as being a L&D nurse if you got into the right type of place you could totally see more holistic and natural births. I also think being a doula would be helpful as you'd get experience comforting and assisting in births and making mom's more comfortable.

If you went on to be a CNM (nurse midwife)you would be caring for lower risk pregnancies with (typically) the idea being a lady partsl delivery. with OB/GYN's they often seem to jump to c-sections for convenience anymore. CNM's seem to allow things to develop more naturally before intervening. You could also consider lactation consulting for helping postpartum moms. There are some agencies that deal a lot with teaching new or young mom's in home as well. My home health agency occasionally gets new mom's and babies if they were young or have questionable support.

And, yes, if you go into nursing you may find a new love. I wanted to be a L&D or pediatric nurse. I wound up in cardiac and love my elderly CHF, MI, CABG, a-fib patients!

Katie71275 · Jan 26, 2015

I started in L&D as a new grad. It sounds like you would fit very well into a hospital that has an LDRP. They do Labor and Delivery, Recovery, and postpartum.

RunBabyRN · Feb 2, 2015

Postpartum nursing is a lot of fun. Lots of getting to teach the families, lots of helping moms manage their pain without meds, learning to breastfeed, etc. You could also research being a postpartum doula.

SeattleRS24 · Feb 4, 2015

Four people in my graduating class started out in L&D as new graduates, myself included. Apply for residency programs, write a killer cover letter template, and utilize any/all personal connections you think may be of help. Get on LinkedIn, too. Good luck!

AspiringNurseMW · Feb 4, 2015

Instead of a doula perhaps you can look into becoming a Childbirth Educator and/or a breastfeeding counselor. Or there is also specific training for being a post - partum doula. Any of those 3 options would probably work well with nursing school as well and experience in these definitely won't hurt when it comes time to get a job

smallnurse10 · Feb 18, 2015

Maybe try childbirth education. I know several L&D nurses that transitioned from childbirth education and still do it on the side because they love the teaching aspect. Also, taking a lactation course would be a good option too. I personally find postpartum rather boring, but you may love it. LDRP may be the best option to get the experience of all specialties. Don't worry about not getting a job in L&D as a new grad. If you do great, if you don't that's okay too. I worked in telemetry and then transferred to L&D after one year. If you work in a high risk facility then you will see lots of medical issues in your pregnant patients so having other experience can be invaluable :) Good luck to you in your future endeavors.

cayenne06, MSN, CNM · Feb 22, 2015

Depending on where you live, it is very possible to get a job in labor and delivery. Postpartum is often easier to get into though, it's true. Other options to keep in mind is working in a prenatal clinic (good hours, crappy pay), and doing mother-baby postpartum home visits through an agency or the VNA. I agree that childbirth education is a GREAT idea!

There is also something called a postpartum doula- look it up, it might be a good fit for you.

Also. I say this with the utmost respect. I absolutely believe in a holistic approach to health care. My mom has owned a health food store for the past 20 years and I used to be a home birth midwife. I would just caution you to make sure that you are giving your patients/clients solid, evidence based care and advice. There is a lot of pseudoscience in the "alternative" health care arena, and I strongly believe we have an ethical duty to our patients to read, research and really understand the evidence (or lack thereof), so we can help our patients make informed choices. If you search my posts here you'll see this is kind of a pet issue of mine. I hope you take my comment in the spirit it was intended- definitely am not trying to be disrespectful :)

dinah77, ADN · Mar 3, 2015

Depending on where you live, it is very possible to get a job in labor and delivery. Postpartum is often easier to get into though, it's true. Other options to keep in mind is working in a prenatal clinic (good hours, crappy pay), and doing mother-baby postpartum home visits through an agency or the VNA. I agree that childbirth education is a GREAT idea!
There is also something called a postpartum doula- look it up, it might be a good fit for you.
Also. I say this with the utmost respect. I absolutely believe in a holistic approach to health care. My mom has owned a health food store for the past 20 years and I used to be a home birth midwife. I would just caution you to make sure that you are giving your patients/clients solid, evidence based care and advice. There is a lot of pseudoscience in the "alternative" health care arena, and I strongly believe we have an ethical duty to our patients to read, research and really understand the evidence (or lack thereof), so we can help our patients make informed choices. If you search my posts here you'll see this is kind of a pet issue of mine. I hope you take my comment in the spirit it was intended- definitely am not trying to be disrespectful :)

Was totally going to leave a similar comment, and you beat me to it :)

I wanted to state also that L&D/ postpartum is NOT a haven for All Things Alternative/ anti-science gobbledygook

I see a lot of high-risk pregnancies and premature babies who would die without agressive allopathic tx and intervention

Also, I would highly recommend at least a year in med-surg first

I work with several nurses who have only ever done OB and wheb we do get a pt with co-morbidities, they are floundering

klone, MSN, RN · Mar 3, 2015

Other options to keep in mind is working in a prenatal clinic (good hours, crappy pay),

One reason I love my job - because we're part of a hospital network, the clinic RNs are paid the same as the hospital RNs!

klone, MSN, RN · Mar 3, 2015

Also, I would highly recommend at least a year in med-surg first
I work with several nurses who have only ever done OB and wheb we do get a pt with co-morbidities, they are floundering

Yep, that was me. Luckily, when I worked inpatient, I always worked low-risk, so comorbidities were quite rare.