Crystal Said:

What are the requirements for becoming a baby nurse?

We Answered:

I don't know that there is a position for what you are thinking of. What do you mean by "hands on"? Holding them? There isn't a job where you can just play with happy babies. There is a need for medical care, not babysitters. RNs provide the medical care.

If you are thinking about working with newborns, you would want to be a neonatal RN. They don't just give shots, they do lots of other things. They follow the orders of the doctor, and with babies they may not have anyone under them. If you worked in obstetrics (surrounding birth, also called labor and delivery) you would take care of mom and baby. To just work the the babies, you would probably work in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) with the very sick babies. That would be hands on, but sad. It isn't just playing with babies whatever you do. LPNs and CNAs would not really be used much in these departments; if they are they don't do much in most hospitals. You would need ether an associate’s degree (3-4 years) or a bachelor’s degree (4-5 years) to become and RN. LPN classes last around a year, but it would be tough to get a job with babies.

They may hire home care aides to go assist new moms at home right after they bring baby home. That would probably also include cooking, cleaning, and other household tasks. That would be minimal training, CNA and HHA and possibly some training from an agency for things specific to new moms and babies. The pay would stink. They may hire RNs to do this, but it would either be for very sick babies or you would just be seeing people for consults.

You won't just be able to train for taking care of babies. Nursing programs cover lots of things, you can't just pick and choose. Most of the demand is in geriatrics, so you wil have to deal with taking care of elderly people in your training (even washing them). Lots of people want to work with babies, so those jobs are competitive so you may need to get some experience working with adults before you could get hired. You would probably want bachelors over the associates.

You need to do some serious research. Job shadow an L&D nurse if you can (I don't know that they would let you in the NICU). At least look at websites beyond Yahoo! Answers.

Shawn Said:

How do you start a career as a baby nurse?

We Answered:

I'm in nursing school now, The majority of my classmates want to do neonatal. You'll need to apply for a nursing program, 2 year schools to get to your ADN usually have a 2 year waiting list, 4 year schools are highly competitive, you just need to obtain your RN through either of those routes and you will get your specialty as you try different things.

Salary starting is about 50k. You'll always have a job as a nurse no matter what but it is very competitive to do intensive care such as neonates.


Hope this helps!

Jenny Said:

What do you think about a labour and delivery nurse career?

We Answered:

thats what im going to school for [planning anyways, never know after the babe comes lol] this fall. i think it would be a great job.

Tracy Said:

Nursing moms: I'm nursing and plan to go back to my professional career when the baby is around 6 months old..?

We Answered:

Well, you can pump at work
If that isn't feasible, you can pump in your car on the way to work.
You simply use a hands free pumping bra, and pump while you are driving
If you want to completely wean, I'd advise not doing it cold turkey
At least until you are sure how your daughter will take to the formula
If you wan to quit nursing, take away a nursing session about a week at a time.
That way you won't get too engorged and won't get mastitis or anything
If you want to continue, you could also not pump at work, and just nurse your daughter in the morning and at night
Or again, you can pump at work, or in the car

Tim Said:

Becoming a RN nurse? Baby Nurse?? Help!!?

We Answered:

Heading to college soon? Time to start writing a bit more mature...you need to find either a community college or a university that has a nursing program (A RN one typically--the N stands for nurse, so you do not need to call it a RN nurse). Start at the community college level first if income is a problem. The only program you need to look at is the RN one; all that other stuff you have listed is not nursing. Once you are done with nursing school you can get hired in perinatal areas (newborns) (the training for a RN is on the job); or the pediatric floor of a hospital. RNs are the highest that do nursing; nurse practitioners do medicine, but cross that bridge when it arises as it is a bit down the road.

Emma Said:

How do you become a "baby nurse" ?

We Answered:

you can be a nurse in a neo-natal/pediatric setting with simply an RN (Associate's or Bachelor's Degree). You'll just have to apply to hospitals for that wing. When you go to nursing school you'll have a whole clinical segment focusing on just that.
If you want to be a midwife and assist the mother throughout her pregnancy you'll need a BSN and a Masters in Midwifery.

Natalie Said:

How does a labor and delivery nurse differ from a baby nurse?

We Answered:

Just my point of view....the patient.

A good labor and delivery nurse will make the laboring woman want the nurse to deliver the child rather than the doctor who she's been seeing from the past 9 months. She is the one who checks in on the mom and family in the labor and delivery room frequently, administers medicines, calls for anesthesiology if an epidural is wanted, laughs and jokes with laboring mom, tries to help out with other forms of pain relief, tells stories about why she wanted to be a labor and delivery nurse to get a connection to the 'mom'.

The baby nurse is just there to check on baby, keep an eye on baby, do baby vitals, report to doctors how baby is doing.