How to Become a Labor and Delivery Nurse
Are you ready to earn your online nursing degree?
Credit: FatCamera / E+ / Getty ImagesLabor and delivery nurses play crucial roles in the birthing process, both for the infant and the mother.
Labor and delivery nurses work with a multidisciplinary team at hospitals and birthing centers to ensure the health and safety of pregnant individuals and babies. They work hard to improve patient outcomes and positively impact maternal mortality rates, which jumped from 17% in 2018 to 24% in 2020.
You need an active registered nurse (RN) license to become a labor and delivery nurse. Although you can become a registered nurse (RN) with an associate degree in nursing (ADN), many employers prefer nurses with a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree.
Find out more about the steps to becoming a labor and delivery nurse, including education, licensure, and certification.
How Long to Become
2-4 years
Degree Required
ADN or BSN
Certification
Basic Life Support Certification, Advanced Cardiac Life Support Certification, Inpatient Obstetric Nursing Certification
Popular Online RN-to-BSN Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
What Is a Labor and Delivery Nurse?
Labor and delivery nurses have specialized responsibilities, including monitoring fetal heart rates, identifying potential risks, and assessing labor progression. They function with compassion, strong communication, and critical thinking skills to provide comprehensive care in an environment that can quickly develop emergencies.
Their daily tasks range from assisting with cesarean sections to providing emotional support to new parents. Because each patient’s needs differ, labor and delivery nurses must provide care that is culturally appropriate and age-specific.
These nurses may work the day, evening, or night shift and are highly sought after for travel nurse positions. Regardless of time or setting, these nurses must maintain constant communication with physicians and families to ensure the best and safest care for mothers and babies.
Steps to Becoming a Labor and Delivery Nurse
To become a labor and delivery nurse, you must have a two- or four-year nursing degree, an active RN license, and clinical experience. Employers may also request basic life support and advanced cardiac life support certifications.
- 1
Earn an ADN or BSN
An ADN is a two-year nursing degree that is the quickest way to become a labor and delivery nurse and the minimum degree needed to practice. A BSN program takes 2-4 years, depending on the program and your prior education or work experience.
- 2
Pass the NCLEX Exam to Receive RN Licensure
After obtaining your ADN or BSN degree, you must pass the NCLEX-RN exam. It is a computer adaptive test that most graduates take roughly 45 days after graduating from nursing school. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) developed the test, which is the final step before obtaining a state RN license.
- 3
Gain Experience in Obstetric Nursing
Nursing students typically complete clinical experiences in specialty areas such as obstetrics and labor and delivery. These clinical rotations provide a foundation where students can make connections with faculty, nurses, and others in that area.
New graduates interested in gaining clinical experience to work in a labor and delivery unit may need to begin in other hospital departments that provide a broad foundation.
- 4
Consider Earning a Specialty Certification
Certifications validate an RN’s expertise in a specialty area, including labor and delivery. Certification can increase your job prospects, earning potential, and ability to serve in leadership positions.
The National Certification Corporation (NCC) offers several core certification examinations for nurses working in labor and delivery, including inpatient obstetric nursing, electronic fetal monitoring, maternal newborn nursing, and low-risk neonatal intensive care nursing. The American Academy of Pediatrics offers a neonatal resuscitation program as an evidence-based approach to newborn care.
Labor and Delivery Nurse Education
Labor and delivery nurses must graduate from an accredited nursing program and pass the NCLEX-RN exam.
ADN Degree
The quickest path to becoming a labor and delivery nurse can be completed in 1-2 years; Credits can later be used to earn a BSN
- Admission Requirements: A high school diploma or its equivalent; math and reading courses and a writing proficiency exam; minimum 2.5 GPA; prerequisite courses
- Program Curriculum: 60-70 credits in developmental psychology, microbiology, human anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, family health nursing, and nursing clinical hours
- Time to Complete: 1-2 years
- Skills Learned: Clinical training to monitor and care for patients; using catheters and tube feeding systems; dispensing medication; clinical experience in a healthcare facility
BSN Degree
BSN candidates can enter directly out of high school or after earning an ADN. A BSN degree can be completed in four years, but licensed RNs may complete the programs more quickly through an RN-to-BSN bridge program or an accelerated BSN program.
BSN-prepared nurses have a higher earning potential and more career opportunities than nurses with an ADN degree. Many employers and professional nursing organizations recommend hiring BSN-prepared nurses as there is a documented increase in survival and lower odds of patient mortality. Hospitals that have raised their ratio of BSN-prepared nurses experience a decrease in length of stay and a 32% decrease in surgical mortality, such as cesarean sections.
- Admission Requirements: Minimum 3.0 or higher GPA, some programs are flexible and accept 2.5; high school diploma, its equivalent, or an ADN degree; resume; letters of reference; a personal essay; clinical or volunteer experience is not required in all programs but highly recommended
- Program Curriculum: Biomedical statistics and research; evidence-based practice; nursing fundamentals; physical assessment in nursing; pharmacology; leadership and management; community health; medical-surgical nursing; psychiatric and mental health nursing
- Time to Complete: 2-4 years
- Skills Learned: Critical thinking; evidence-based practice; clinical assessments and population health skills; information management; patient care technology; leadership and management
Labor and Delivery Nurse Licensure and Certification
Each state has different requirements for nurses to maintain their RN license. Most require licensure renewal every two years and a certain number of continuing education (CE) credits
There are several certifications labor and delivery nurses can earn to improve job security and demonstrate specialized expertise. Continuing education contributes positively to the healthcare organization by improving the quality of care and demonstrating a commitment to professional growth and excellence.
- Neonatal Resuscitation Program: Designed to improve neonatal health outcomes by providing evidence-based guidelines and hands-on training.
- Inpatient Obstetric Nursing (RNC-OB): Provides a competency-based validation of nurse knowledge and its application. Nurses are eligible after two years of specialty experience providing hospital-based care during antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, and newborn periods.
- Care of the Extremely Low Birth Weight Neonate (C-ELBW): For nurses who provide care to seriously ill and extremely low birth weight babies and their families. Practice experience is recommended but not required.
- Maternal Newborn Nursing (RNC-MNN): A competency-based exam for nurses with a current RN license and at least 2,000 clinical hours of specialty experience and employment in that specialty within the last 24 months.
- Inpatient Antepartum Nursing (RNC-IAP): Eligible nurses must have a current and unencumbered license in the U.S. or Canada, 24 months and 2,000 hours of specialty experience, and employment in the specialty in the past 24 months.
Working as a Labor and Delivery Nurse
A career as a labor and delivery room nurse is highly rewarding and challenging. Nurses focus on providing care during childbirth and play a critical role in ensuring the health and well-being of both mother and newborn. They must be adaptable and quick-thinking.
Nurses seeking to advance their careers may pursue advanced practice roles such as women’s health nurse practitioner or certified nurse-midwife. Nurses with advanced degrees and experience may encounter more opportunities for roles in management or education.
Labor and delivery nurses can earn a comfortable living, with the national average annual salary of about $73,000 as of June 2024, according to Payscale data.
Frequently Asked Questions About Becoming a Labor and Delivery Nurse
Becoming a labor and delivery nurse takes from 2-4 years. The exact timeline depends on the degree earned. Certification requires an additional two years of work experience.
Related Pages
Advocating for Patients of Color as a Labor and Delivery Nurse
Women of color are dying at alarming rates in childbirth and even up to a year after. Find out the challenges facing pregnant patients of color and how labor and delivery nurses can help advocate for them.
How to Become a Nurse Midwife
Use this guide to learn how to become a midwife. Explore educational pathways, certification and licensing requirements, and earning potential.
The Best Online RN-to-BSN Programs of 2024
Are you an RN interested in completing your undergraduate nursing education? These top RN-to-BSN programs can be completed in just 12-24 months.