Labor and Delivery Nurse Job Description: Duties, Template & Pay (2026)
A labor and delivery nurse is a registered nurse who cares for patients through labor, birth and the first hours after: triaging patients who arrive with contractions, monitoring mother and baby, supporting labor, assisting at vaginal and cesarean births, and caring for the newborn and the recovering patient. The role needs an RN license; units usually want obstetric experience, and newborn resuscitation training is a standard requirement. This page has a labor and delivery nurse job description template, the rules and credentials quoted at source, interview questions and pay.
What a labor and delivery nurse does
Labor and delivery (L&D) nurses work in hospital birthing units, and in some hospitals across a combined labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum unit. The pace swings between quiet monitoring and emergencies, such as a sudden change in the fetal heart rate or a hemorrhage after birth, that need the nurse to act within minutes and call the team in.
BLS and O*NET do not publish separate figures or a separate profile for labor and delivery nurses. They are counted with registered nurses (SOC 29-1141), and all pay and employment figures on this page describe that group.
Labor and delivery nurse duties
- Triage patients who arrive in labor or with pregnancy concerns: history, vital signs, contraction pattern and fetal heart rate, then report to the provider
- Apply and interpret electronic fetal monitoring and respond to concerning patterns per protocol
- Monitor labor progress, maternal vital signs and pain; give medications, including oxytocin and IV fluids, as ordered
- Support patients through labor with positioning, coaching and comfort measures; assist with epidural placement
- Prepare for and assist at vaginal births; scrub or circulate for cesarean births where the unit assigns it
- Assess and care for the newborn at birth, including resuscitation when needed, and support skin-to-skin and first feeding
- Monitor recovery after birth, including bleeding and uterine tone, and escalate signs of hemorrhage or hypertension
- Teach patients and families, document care and hand off to postpartum and nursery teams
Licensing, federal rules and credentials
BLS: “Registered nurses must have a nursing license issued by the state in which they work. To become licensed, nurses must graduate from an approved nursing program and pass a qualifying exam.” A multistate license works where your state is in the Nurse Licensure Compact; see compact nursing states.
Hospital nursing rules
For hospitals in Medicare, 42 CFR 482.23(b) requires a procedure to ensure nursing personnel have valid and current licensure, and that a registered nurse assign each patient's care “in accordance with the patient's needs and the specialized qualifications and competence of the nursing staff available.” For an L&D unit, that is the basis for documented competencies in fetal monitoring, oxytocin administration and newborn resuscitation.
EMTALA and obstetric triage
Hospitals often send patients in labor straight to L&D triage, which brings the unit into EMTALA territory. Under 42 CFR 489.24, if an individual “comes to the emergency department” as the rule defines it, a hospital with an emergency department must provide an appropriate medical screening examination, conducted by “an individual(s) who is determined qualified by hospital bylaws or rules and regulations.” The same section defines labor as “the process of childbirth beginning with the latent or early phase of labor and continuing through the delivery of the placenta,” and says a woman experiencing contractions “is in true labor unless a physician, certified nurse-midwife, or other qualified medical person acting within his or her scope of practice as defined in hospital medical staff bylaws and State law, certifies that, after a reasonable time of observation, the woman is in false labor.” If your bylaws name L&D nurses as qualified to perform part of that screening, say so in the job description and train to it. This is general information, not legal advice.
Credentials
- RNC-OB (Inpatient Obstetric Nursing) from the National Certification Corporation. Eligibility: “Current/active/unencumbered licensure as an RN in the U.S. or Canada,” “24 months of specialty experience as a U.S. or Canadian RN comprised of a minimum of 2000 hours,” and “Employment in the specialty sometime in the last 24 months.” NCC notes both the time and the hours must be met.
- C-EFM (Electronic Fetal Monitoring), also from NCC, open to licensed RNs and other licensed clinicians.
- NRP, the American Academy of Pediatrics Neonatal Resuscitation Program, which the AAP describes as an evidence-based approach to care of the newborn at birth for professionals who care for newborns at delivery. Units commonly require it alongside BLS; some add ACLS.
Labor and delivery nurse job description template
Copy this into your ATS or job board, replace the bracketed fields, and delete what does not apply. It is written for a hospital L&D unit; the section on variations covers other settings.
Job title
Registered Nurse, Labor and Delivery, [Hospital name], [City, ST]
Summary
[Hospital name] is hiring a labor and delivery nurse for our [level of care, e.g. Level II] birthing unit in [city], with about [number] births a year. You will care for patients in triage, labor, birth and recovery, and care for newborns in their first hours, working with our obstetricians, [midwives], anesthesia and nursery teams. [Schedule, e.g. three 12-hour shifts, days or nights, every third weekend, holiday rotation.] [Pay range and differentials.] [One sentence on what is good about this unit.]
What you will do
• Triage patients arriving in labor or with pregnancy concerns and report findings to the provider
• Apply and interpret fetal monitoring and respond to changes per protocol
• Monitor labor, give medications including oxytocin as ordered, and support patients through labor
• Assist at vaginal births and [circulate / scrub] for cesarean births
• Assess newborns at birth and resuscitate when needed
• Monitor recovery and act on signs of hemorrhage or hypertension
• Teach patients and families and document in [EHR]
• [Charge nurse or preceptor duties, if part of the role]
What you need
• Active RN license in [state] or a multistate compact license
• [X] year(s) of labor and delivery experience [or completion of our perinatal residency]
• BLS and NRP [ACLS within X days of hire]
• [Associate or bachelor's degree in nursing, per hospital policy]
Nice to have
• RNC-OB or C-EFM certification
• Postpartum, nursery, NICU or OR circulating experience
• [Language skills relevant to your patients]
What we offer
• [Pay range], [night, weekend and holiday differentials]
• [Orientation length] with a dedicated preceptor
• [Certification exam fees and certification pay]
• [Benefits and eligibility date]
• [Tuition help, clinical ladder]
How to apply
[One step. Say when a nurse recruiter or the unit manager will call.]
Requirements: what to ask for, and what to drop
| Requirement | What to know |
|---|---|
| RN license | Keep it. Accept compact licenses where your state is in the compact. |
| L&D experience | Keep it for experienced-nurse postings, but run a separate residency posting for nurses moving from postpartum, nursery or med-surg. Say which one the posting is. |
| RNC-OB at hire | Drop it as a requirement. Eligibility takes 24 months and 2,000 hours in the specialty. |
| NRP and BLS | Keep them. Allow a window after hire for NRP if you teach it in-house. |
| Circulating for cesareans | State it if your unit does its own sections. It is a real skill difference between units, and nurses ask. |
| Schedule | Be exact: 12-hour shifts, nights, weekends and holidays. Births do not follow business hours, and BLS notes hospital nurses usually work shifts for round-the-clock coverage. |
Variations of the labor and delivery nurse job description
Labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum (LDRP) nurse
One nurse follows the patient from admission through postpartum. Add postpartum and newborn care duties and say how assignments change across the stay.
Obstetric triage nurse
Focused on assessment and screening of patients who arrive with contractions, bleeding, decreased fetal movement or hypertension. Say what the nurse's role in the medical screening examination is under your bylaws.
Antepartum nurse
Care for patients admitted before birth with complications. NCC offers a separate Inpatient Antepartum Nursing (RNC-IAP) credential; list it as a plus.
New graduate or perinatal residency
Lead with the residency length, classroom and simulation time, and the preceptor model. Requirements shrink to the license or NCLEX date and BLS, with NRP taught during orientation.
Travel labor and delivery nurse
See the travel nurse job description for the contract version: license in the assignment state, recent L&D experience and the cards your unit requires.
What labor and delivery nurses earn
BLS does not publish a labor and delivery nurse wage. Registered nurses had a median of $97,550 a year, or $46.90 an hour, in May 2025; the lowest 10 percent earned less than $68,940 and the highest 10 percent more than $137,470. Since L&D units are in hospitals, the closer reference is the BLS median for RNs in hospitals, $100,220. Check local postings for L&D differentials before you set a range.
BLS counted 3,465,400 RN jobs in 2025, projects 6 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations, and expects about 180,800 openings a year.
Interview questions for a labor and delivery nurse
1. The fetal heart rate tracing changes and you see recurrent late decelerations. What do you do?
A good answer names intrauterine resuscitation steps per protocol (position change, fluids, stopping oxytocin), notifying the provider promptly and documenting. Hesitation to call the provider is the red flag.
2. Tell me about a postpartum hemorrhage you were part of. What was your role?
Listen for early recognition, quantified blood loss, calling for help and knowing the unit's hemorrhage protocol.
3. How do you manage oxytocin, and when do you stop it?
Strong candidates describe following the order and protocol, watching contraction frequency and fetal response, and stopping or reducing it when the protocol says to.
4. A patient's birth plan conflicts with what is happening clinically. How do you handle it?
Look for respect, clear explanation within scope, involving the provider, and keeping the patient part of decisions.
5. Walk me through the first minute after a baby is born not breathing.
A good answer follows NRP steps and calls for the team early. It is a quick check that the certification is more than a card.
6. How do you handle a shift with two patients pushing and one in triage?
You want prioritization, asking the charge nurse for help early and clear communication, not heroics.
What it costs to reach a labor and delivery nurse
L&D nurses are registered nurses, so we use the registered nurse role family. In our 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark it ran a median cost per applicant of $19.08 on Meta, with the middle half of campaigns between $12.76 and $34.84, a blended figure of $20.00 and an 11 percent apply rate. The healthcare and senior living sector as a whole ran a $15.42 median at a 16 percent apply rate, and the all-role median is $13.88.
Across the benchmark, apply rate explains 70 percent of the variation in cost per applicant. For an L&D posting that means a short form (license, years in L&D, shift preference) and a call from someone who can talk about the unit. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire.
Staffing the rest of the unit? See the registered nurse, ICU nurse, surgical technologist, nurse manager and patient care technician job descriptions.
The job description is not the job ad
The template is the document for your files. The ad has to reach an L&D or postpartum nurse scrolling after a night shift.
- Lead with the unit: births a year, level of care, whether nurses circulate sections, and the schedule.
- If you run a residency for nurses new to obstetrics, make that the headline of a separate ad.
- Show the pay range and differentials.
- Keep the form short and call back the same day.
- On Facebook and Instagram, job ads run under Meta's employment special ad category: a location radius of at least 15 miles and no targeting by age, gender or ZIP code. Write the copy so the right nurses recognize the job themselves.
More on the ad itself is in healthcare job ad templates and healthcare recruiting strategies.
Frequently asked questions
What does a labor and delivery nurse do?
A labor and delivery nurse is a registered nurse who cares for patients through labor, birth and recovery. The work includes triage, electronic fetal monitoring, managing medications such as oxytocin, supporting patients through labor, assisting at vaginal and cesarean births, caring for and resuscitating newborns, watching for hemorrhage after birth, teaching families and documenting care.
What should a labor and delivery nurse job description include?
Include the unit's level of care and births per year, the schedule and differentials, the RN license requirement, the L&D experience you need or the residency you offer, required cards such as BLS and NRP, whether nurses circulate cesareans, RNC-OB as a plus, the pay range, and how quickly a recruiter or manager will call.
What certifications does a labor and delivery nurse need?
An RN license valid in your state is the legal requirement. Units commonly require BLS and the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and some add ACLS. RNC-OB and C-EFM from the National Certification Corporation are voluntary specialty credentials; RNC-OB requires 24 months and 2,000 hours of specialty experience.
Should I require RNC-OB for labor and delivery nurses?
Usually not at hire. NCC requires 24 months of specialty experience as an RN comprising at least 2,000 hours, plus employment in the specialty sometime in the last 24 months, before a nurse can sit for RNC-OB. Requiring it excludes nurses moving into obstetrics. List it as a plus and pay certification differentials instead.
How much do labor and delivery nurses make?
BLS does not publish an L&D-specific wage. Registered nurses had a median of $97,550 a year, or $46.90 an hour, in May 2025, and RNs in hospitals had a median of $100,220. Check local postings for labor and delivery rates and night, weekend and holiday differentials before you set a range.
Can labor and delivery nurses do the EMTALA medical screening exam?
It depends on your hospital. Under 42 CFR 489.24, the medical screening examination must be conducted by individuals determined qualified by hospital bylaws or rules and regulations, and false labor must be certified by a physician, certified nurse-midwife or other qualified medical person. Check your bylaws and state law. This is general information, not legal advice.
Can a new graduate nurse work in labor and delivery?
Yes, where the hospital runs a perinatal residency or extended orientation. Post it separately from experienced-nurse openings, lead with the residency length, classroom time and preceptor model, and keep requirements to the RN license or NCLEX date and BLS, with NRP taught during orientation.
What interview questions should I ask a labor and delivery nurse?
Ask how they respond to recurrent late decelerations, their role in a postpartum hemorrhage, how they manage and stop oxytocin, how they handle a birth plan that conflicts with the clinical picture, the first minute with a newborn who is not breathing, and how they prioritize two patients pushing with another in triage.
How much does it cost to recruit a labor and delivery nurse?
On Meta, the registered nurse role family in Boostpoint's 2026 benchmark ran a median of $19.08 per applicant, with the middle half of campaigns between $12.76 and $34.84 and an 11 percent apply rate. That is cost per applicant, not cost per hire. A short form and a quick call keep it at the lower end.
Related job descriptions
Hiring labor and delivery nurses?
The description is the document. Getting it in front of obstetric nurses near your hospital, and calling them back quickly, is the part we do.
Wage, employment and projection data for registered nurses (SOC 29-1141), the group BLS counts labor and delivery nurses in: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, Registered Nurses (SOC 29-1141; May 2025 wages, 2025–35 projections; last modified 27 August 2026). Hospital nursing rules from 42 CFR 482.23 and EMTALA definitions from 42 CFR 489.24 on eCFR. RNC-OB eligibility and C-EFM from the National Certification Corporation; NRP from the American Academy of Pediatrics. General information, not legal advice. Cost-per-applicant and apply-rate figures: Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark, 891 managed campaigns and 1,334 campaign-months. Read at source 24 September 2026.