Obstetrics nursing is a type of nursing care that focuses on pregnant women and the babies they give birth to. Obstetrics nurses assess, implement, and evaluate care during the various stages of childbirth on their own. Obstetrics is a surgical specialty concerned with the care of women and children during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Perinatal nurses and labor and delivery nurses are two types of obstetrics nurses.
Some students will become licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and gain some entry-level nursing experience before continuing their education to become an obstetrics nurse in the United States. Others will skip this step and enroll in an accredited college that offers a Bachelors of Nursing program with an obstetrics concentration. A new nurse will typically complete a year of clinical nursing experience before passing the state board nursing examination and becoming a registered nurse (RN). The National Certification Corporation is the final step in becoming an obstetrics nurse in the United States (NCC). Nursing education in other countries often follows a similar path, but it varies location.
The responsibilities of an obstetrics nurse can vary depending on the patient’s needs. While collaborating with physicians or other health care providers, an obstetric nurse may assess each mother and bato develop an individualized care plan. Obstetrics nursing also entails keeping an eye on the mother and bafor any negative reactions. If this occurs, the obstetrics nurse will modify the patients’ care plan based on her own medical knowledge and the advice of the patients’ physicians.
A woman is attended to an obstetrics nurse for the majority of her labor. The nurse may give you pain medication or suggest other options for dealing with labor pains. During this time, the nurse will keep an eye on the labor and notify the doctor when it’s time to give birth. In most cases of uncomplicated childbirth, the doctor does not intervene until the bais ready to be delivered. The nurse will hand over the delivery to the physician at this point, but will remain to assist.
An obstetric nurse also educates the patient about postpartum health and newborn care after the birth. Obstetrics nursing entails offering emotional support to new parents as they adjust to their newborn child. An obstetrics nurse might assist a mother and her bain becoming comfortable with breastfeeding or show a new father different swaddling techniques.