How to Become a Labor and Delivery Nurse
Be the friendly face and steady hand that helps a woman become a mother.
Ask a nurse why they like their job, and you’re likely to hear it’s because they love to help people and make a difference in someone’s life. A nurse who has learned how to become a labor and delivery nurse impacts the lives of at least two people—the mother and the child. And yes, we don’t want to overlook you, grandma and grandpa! As a nurse who brings a baby into the world, you help change an entire family.
Every medical professional on a birthing team is essential. As a labor and delivery nurse, you’re the friendly face the mother sees throughout the birth. Labor and delivery nurses are so important that they outnumber OB/GYNs by 25%.
If you’re considering furthering your education and are interested in how to become a labor and delivery nurse, here’s some information about what your role and responsibilities, education, and salary.
What Is a Labor and Delivery Nurse?
Every mother-to-be is greeted by a labor and delivery nurse when she arrives at the hospital. You’ll be with the mother every step of the way, guiding her through delivery. You’ll be with her before the doctor arrives, update them, and assist with the birth. Along with medical care that includes monitoring the baby and the mother’s vital signs and progress towards birth, you’ll be her coach and cheerleader and provide support for the father, partner, or other family members in the delivery room.
What Does a Labor and Delivery Nurse Do?
When you work in a hospital as a labor and delivery nurse, you may work eight-hour shifts, but more likely, you’ll be on a schedule of working three 12-hour days and four days off per week. This schedule allows you to be with a mother throughout her labor and delivery and gives you time off for your personal life. Some nurses use the time off to pick up overtime hours. Babies arrive on their own schedules, so you may be working daytime or overnight hours.
You’ll find yourself working in many areas of a hospital throughout the birthing process:
- Triage room: To assess mothers when they first arrive to determine if they are in labor.
- Antepartum room: The birth “waiting room” where you’ll monitor the mother’s progress with physical checks.
- Labor and delivery room: You’ll determine when it’s time to make this move based on several physical signs that tell you baby is ready to arrive.
- Operating room: Some mothers are scheduled for cesarean birth or may need one at the last minute. Complications can also arise that require surgery.
- Infant nursery: You’ll continue to monitor the baby, conducting newborn tests and assessing their condition in the nursery.
- Postpartum room: You’ll check on the mother’s recovery progress and determine when she is ready to see her baby.
Your most important role during birth is to keep records, update the doctor, and advocate for the mother. You are the central point of contact for all the other medical professionals working with the mother, including anesthesiologists, physicians, and charge nurses.
Part of your job is education for expectant parents. This includes:
- Conducting childbirth preparation classes.
- Providing information about recovery and infant care.
- Consulting about breastfeeding.
- Providing postpartum support.
Because of your various responsibilities as a labor and delivery nurse, you’ll need empathy, critical thinking, decision-making, and communication skills to be successful. Let’s look at the education and other requirements you’ll need as you learn how to become a labor and delivery nurse.
How to Become a Labor and Delivery Nurse
If you’re thinking about becoming, or already are, a registered nurse, you have just a few more steps to become a labor and delivery nurse. It’s a job with more responsibility, and a labor and delivery nurse salary is usually higher than that of an RN. Here is an overview of the additional education and experience you’ll need to head toward the labor and delivery room.
Labor and Delivery Nurse Education Requirements
It’s a four-step process to learn how to become a labor and delivery nurse, be certified to work as one, and continue to advance your career.
In all, you can expect labor and delivery nurse schooling to take three to five years depending on which undergraduate degree you earn. Practical experience adds another year. That means it will take a total of four to six years to become a labor and delivery nurse, from the time you enroll in school to the point you are allowed to practice on your own.
1. Earn a Nursing Degree
Labor and delivery nurse schooling starts out like that of any nurse. You’ll graduate with a two-year associate degree in nursing (ADN) or a four-year bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN). You can give yourself a hiring advantage by taking electives in labor and delivery subjects while in school.
2. Take the RN Exam and Get a License
Once you have a degree, you’ll take the Nursing License Map | NCLEX.com for Registered Nurses (NCLEX) exam.
3. Take Additional Classes and Do a Rotation
Your next step is to work as an RN in the various obstetrics areas of a hospital for a year, rotating between labor and delivery, the NICU, the nursery, and postpartum departments. You’ll take classes in neonatal resuscitation and fetal monitoring during your rotation. When you finish your rotation, you are eligible to be hired as a labor and delivery nurse.
4. Consider Advanced Education and Licensing
After two years of labor and delivery nursing practice, you can take other certification exams, including intrapartum nursing, postpartum nursing, fetal monitoring, and nursery. If you find an area you especially enjoy, the National Certification Commission (NCC) offers specialty labor and delivery nurse certifications in:
- Inpatient Obstetric Nursing (RNC-OB)
- Maternal Newborn Nursing (RNC-MNN)
- Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing (RNC-NIC)
How Much Do Labor and Delivery Nurses Make?
The median labor and delivery nurse salary is $82,535. Using the Monster Salary Guide, you can look up the average salary for a labor and delivery nurse in your location.
How to Find Labor and Delivery Nurse Jobs
Wherever you are in your journey to learn how to become a labor and delivery nurse, it’s time to start thinking ahead. Creating a resume is an excellent first step in your future job search.
This sample labor and delivery nurse resume shows you how to organize your education, experience, and credentials to give employers an accurate picture of your abilities. Notice how the professional summary in this resume provides a broad picture of experience, then lists areas of expertise, and follows that with job history.
Pair your resume with a cover letter to make an effective application package. Monster has some cover letter tips especially for nurses. If you need some inspiration for writing yours, take a look at this sample nurse cover letter.
Once you have your resume and cover letter in top shape, dig in and find labor and delivery nurse jobs on Monster.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has identified the top five states and five areas with the most RN jobs.
States with the highest employment of RNs are:
Areas with the most RN jobs are:
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