Labor and Delivery RNs?

Hi, I was wondering if anyone out there who is an RN in a labor and delivery unit could help shed some light on what your daily work life is like. I am a current nursing student and must submit a proposal for my summer synthesis, which is an opportunity to work one-on-one with an RN in a field of my choice. I want to do labor and delivery for the summer but I don't even start my initial maternity rotation until after the proposal is due. I would just love to hear someone's stories about what their job is like! Thanks!
a day on my unit, which is pretty small for the area that i'm in (we do about 80-100 deliveries a month), is usually filled w/inductions and schedule C/S. A lot of interaction w/patients is education, educating on the meds, infant care, self care, etc. We also have a 95% epidural rate, so I'm usually assisting the CRNA w/the procedure, in which I need to make sure she is positioned right, hydrate her, monitor VS, and monitor the baby (if possible, because sometimes the position they are in loses the fetal heart tone tracing). In the case that a strip "gets ugly", I never freak out or panic, especially around the patient, because it tends to cause more harm than do any good, and it clouds your judgment and critical thinking. Most times, things are fine, and we end up with a nice, smooth delivery and recovery. Our unit is also a postpartum unit, so sometimes I get to have my patient that I had in Labor for when it's my turn to do PP. Hope that helps!

Thanks for your response! Very neat. I think I would like it. I am curious though, what role does the RN play during the actual delivery? Are you present while the baby is born (vaginal birth)?

Quote from lenac1122Thanks for your response! Very neat. I think I would like it. I am curious though, what role does the RN play during the actual delivery? Are you present while the baby is born (vaginal birth)?

For a cesarean delivery, the labor nurse often becomes the circulator in the OR. That means coordinating everyone else's roles, doing the sterile prep, inserting the foley, getting heart tones after anesthesia administration, doing the instrument counts with the scrub person, doing the time out, keeping track of times, etc.99% of the time I LOOOOVE my job as L&D nurse. I think it's the best job in the world. Good luck!

You are so many things as an L&D nurse. Most people are scheduled to be induced or to have a cesarean these days. So your days are filled with those and you have your emergencies of course. In most hospitals you are a labor and delivery nurse of course, a circulatory if your pt should happen to have a cesarean, a triage nurse (everyone 20 weeks preg or better comes to the maternity center), a baby nurse during some deliveries, and a postpartum nurse. At least at my hospital all this is true. It's a wonderful profession. But put on your roller skates, be safe, and have fun.