Working on a post partum floor

[rbytsdy]

This might be a silly question but I need the basics! I'm taking my prereqs this year and hope to start clinicals next Fall. I'd eventually like to work with post partum mothers and babies. My question: Is this considered separate from L&D? Do nurses ever have to float back and forth?

Some of the hospitals near me have LDR rooms and Post partum rooms. Others have LDRP rooms where laboring mother and post partum mothers are all together. I always figured working on the post partum floor had to be separate but if a hospital has LDRP, how does that work?

I'm sorry if this question is really basic! I really do NOT want to do L&D (I'm not sure if I could handle being at a lot of c-sections and my state has a very high c-s rate) but I am very attracted to the idea of working with new moms and babies.

I know OB nursing in general is hard to get into right away but is it easier to get into post partum floors or L&D? I know this will vary by area but I'm curious about people's experiences.

I know things may very well change (interests, opportunities, etc) as I progress but I'd love any info.

Thanks!

[midwifemamma]

i think it does vary from place to place. some places have ldrp's like you mentioned, and to work in those i'd assume that you have to be trained in both l&d and postpartum. other hospitals have those units separate, and i would assume that some of them have nurses crosstrained to do both units, and others do not.

for me, finding a job in ob was tough at first, so i did a few years of med-surg first. then i found a job that started in postpartum, and then they train you to do labor and delivery.

i love postpartum so much! i'm working on getting my hours for my IBCLC, breastfeeding is one of my passions.

my understanding is that for the most part (at least in my area), postpartum seems easier to get into, and then it seems like it's easier to transfer to l&d once you have pp experience.

[rbytsdy]

i love postpartum so much! i'm working on getting my hours for my IBCLC, breastfeeding is one of my passions.

This is my goal! :) That's another reason I am really interested in post partum but not really L&D.

[flytern]

I've worked at both LDRP and L/D, mother baby hospitals. Every hospital is different. Most LDRP's require you to know labor and post partum because you usually keep your patient after delivery.

Other places have specific labor nurses, who transfer patients down the hall to the post partum section after recovery.

I've even worked in places that require you to be able to be the second nurse in NICU.

Call around to local hospitals, see how they're set up. But beware, by the time you're through with school things could change.

Around here, we went from L/D to LDRP and now are slowly going back to L/D.

Just keep an open mind. I started out in a OB/Gyne doctor's office as a reception, went to school, worked in the office, went to postpartum, snuck in a few deliveries and was hooked! I love all aspects of OB/Gyne, even the post-hysters that come to our floor. :balloons: