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  Nurses are medical professionals with many duties. A nurse may choose to work with many patients or specialize in a specific area of patient care. One such nursing specialty is labor and delivery. Labor and delivery is the field of medical care that deals with the needs of pregnant, laboring and postpartum women as well as their newborn infants.
  
  

Labor

• Labor and delivery nurses care for women who are in labor. This might include taking a patient's blood pressure, charting her heart rate and noting any changes to her skin tone. A labor and delivery nurse must watch closely for signs of problems and notify the doctor on call if the patient is in distress and might need more intensive medical intervention.
  
  

Pain Relief

• A labor and delivery nurse helps a laboring woman practice techniques designed to help relieve the pain of childbearing. The nurse may walk her through such practices as breathing techniques that have been shown to help reduce feelings of stress during labor. A nurse also monitors any patients who have received medication for severe pain, such as epidural anesthesia. The nurse may need to check periodically to make sure the medication is working and that the patient is reacting safely to it.
  
  

Assist Doctors

• Labor and delivery nurses assist obstetricians during the process of delivering babies. A nurse might supply medical instrumentation, place a baby on a woman's belly after it has been born and wash the baby after birth. A labor and delivery nurse also may inform the patient's family about the progress of the woman and the baby during the delivery as well as help members remain sterile if they want to join the woman during the delivery.
  
  

Postpartum Care

• Labor and delivery nurses help care for patients after they have given birth, including monitoring their progress and making sure they are eating and drinking enough and that their digestive systems are functioning properly. A nurse also monitors patients for fevers or other complications.
  
  

Newborn Care

• Labor and delivery nurses care for newborn babies, including feeding them or teaching a new mom to breastfeed properly. A labor and delivery nurse comforts crying babies, helps doctors test their hearing and administers their first vaccinations.