Labor and delivery nurse

As an L&D nurse, your expertise is invaluable to new and expecting parents. It’s your job to make them feel as informed and prepared as possible for everything from labor and delivery to what to do once they walk out of those hospital doors. Be prepared to answer questions, validate emotions, and help birthing partners know how to best support their loved ones.

During and after labor, you’ll assess the needs of parents and how you can help them. During labor, this means maintaining a clear line of communication so you can assist mothers through their contractions, providing whatever physical, emotional or medicinal support they need. Postpartum, this means helping them with any care questions or concerns they may have, and connecting them to resources they might require, like a lactation consultant. The better you’re able to communicate with your patients, the better you’ll anticipate and evaluate their needs, so make sure to prioritize this relationship from the moment an expectant mother enters your care and trusts you with their delivery.

As experts in various labor and delivery experiences, L&D nurses are constantly using what they learn to help their next patients. Because of this, L&D nurses are some of the top innovators when it comes to finding new ways to accommodate the experience and health of laboring mothers and their children.

As a professional consistently in the room with expectant mothers, it’s on you to keep a close eye on vital signs, like the mother’s blood pressure, timing of contractions, and the baby’s heart rate.

Every mother’s birth plan and birth process will vary, which means that necessary treatment differs on a case by case basis. If an epidural is part of your patient’s birth plan, you’ll be in charge of administering it. If your patient’s birth ends up needing to be induced, you’ll provide them with the medication and support. In the event of a C-section, you’ll prep them for the procedure. In short, there are many factors that play a role in how you go about treating each patient, and it’s your job as an L&D nurse to be prepared for and knowledgeable about all of them.

You’re expected to be able to react and make decisions quickly in demanding circumstances. Active Labor moves at varying speeds, but your ability to react in a timely manner can make a world of a difference for your patient.

You’ll spend a lot of time with patients and their families, so it’s important to be as calm, collected, and compassionate as possible. You should be able to establish trust from the get-go so that you and your patient are able to communicate effectively, ensuring the safety of both mother and child.

When working in stressful situations, like labor and delivery, having a set structure to lean on allows you to be more attentive and adaptable to the situation at hand, and allows all care providers to prioritize and address the health and safety of their patients.

No labor and delivery process is the same, so adaptability and proactivity are essential attributes. It’s important to get as much varied experience as possible from the start, as it’ll allow you to hone your skills in communication, delivery assistance and neonatal care.