Perinatal Nurse Career Overview

What Is a Perinatal Nurse?

Perinatal nurses take care of women, their newborns, and their families through pregnancy, birth, and up to a month after the baby arrives. They provide prenatal care for mother and baby and educate the whole family on how they can look after them at home. They assist physicians and nurse midwives during labor and can manage a newborn’s care right after delivery. Even uncomplicated pregnancies can feel complicated, and perinatal nurses offer support and evidence-based instruction on how best to ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Where Do Perinatal Nurses Work?

From hospital to home, perinatal nurses can choose from many different work environments:

• Birthing centers
• Community health organizations
• Home health
• Hospital maternity wards
• Neonatal intensive care units
• Physician’s offices

Many hospitals offer a separate triage area for pregnant women. Here, perinatal nurses assess women as they come in with concerns like preterm labor or dehydration. They can also help determine true versus false labor and often collaborate with the medical team to decide if a patient should be admitted for delivery or discharged.

In physician’s offices, perinatal nurses assist with prenatal care and screening. Women are generally seen every month before the baby comes, and even more frequently in the last several weeks before birth. At these checkups, perinatal nurses assess the mother and baby, offer education, and answer any questions. Most pregnant women don’t get home visits from nurses, but some perinatal nurses will visit mothers and newborns at home in the days and weeks after delivery.

Some community health organizations offer prenatal care and counseling for women who don’t have a regular healthcare provider. Others provide education and advice pre-conception, helping people understand how their bodies work and how they can plan their families according to their wishes.

What Does a Perinatal Nurse Do?

Pregnancy and birth can offer families exhilarating joy, but happiness can be dimmed when expectant parents lack information. Prenatal care has proven to be extremely important in pregnancy outcomes, and a huge part of a perinatal nurse’s purpose is to provide that care for mothers and their babies.

One aspect of prenatal care is assessment. During pregnancy, perinatal nurses:

• Analyze urine samples
• Assess risk for pregnancy complications
• Check fetal heartbeat
• Measure the mother’s vital signs
• Perform tests like fetal stress test monitoring

An expectant mother’s blood pressure is an important value because it can point to preeclampsia, a treatable condition that can be fatal if left to progress.

Another essential piece of prenatal care is education. Perinatal nurses teach parents:

• Healthy habits during pregnancy
• How to bond with their baby
• How to create a birth plan
• Infant care
• Options for childbirth
• Possible postpartum issues
• What to expect each trimester

During birth, perinatal nurses may assist with delivery under the direction of a nurse-midwife or physician. Perinatal nurses can be a comforting presence in the delivery room if parents have seen them during prenatal checkups. After the baby arrives, perinatal nurses can help teach parents how to nurse, give the baby their first bath, assist with cord blood retrieval, and be an on-hand resource for the new parents.

How Do I Become a Perinatal Nurse?

Anyone who desires a career in perinatal nursing must first apply to, attend, and graduate from an accredited nursing program with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Nurses can sometimes find perinatal work with only an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), but more and more employers require a BSN. Some even require an advanced degree and nurse practitioner (NP) designation for this role.

After nurses earn a degree, they can apply to work as graduate nurses (GNs). Many healthcare facilities hire nurses as GNs and train them until they pass the NCLEX-RN, their state licensing exam. After passing the NCLEX, GNs earn the title of registered nurses (RNs). After finishing orientation per their unit, new RNs can practice independently.

Once a perinatal nurse has some experience under their belt, they can choose to earn a specialty certification. Perinatal nursing has no dedicated credential, but they can choose from other certifications related to their field, such as the Certification for Adult, Pediatric, and Neonatal Critical Care Nurses (CCRN). All nurses in patient-facing roles must obtain a Basic Life Support Certification (BLS), and some may choose to earn the Advanced Cardiac Life Support Certification (ACLS) or Pediatric Advanced Life Support Certification (PALS).

Perinatal nurses can also return to school to earn an advanced practice degree – a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) – specializing in perinatal nursing. Once they have this degree, nurses can practice as nurse practitioners (NPs). An MSN can be completed in two years, but some nurses prefer to take it slower so they can work full-time.

How Much Does a Perinatal Nurse Make Per Year?

Perinatal nurses can earn the same as any other RN, with an annual average of $94,480 per year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Salaries can change with location and experience, with a low-end average of $63,720 and a high-end of $132,680.

Depending on the workplace, an employer may be able to offer higher or lower compensation:

• General Medical and Surgical Hospitals: $96,830
• Offices of Physicians: $83,110
• Outpatient Care Centers: $102,640
• Home Health Care Services: $87,430

Salaries also vary depending on which state a perinatal nurse practices. The West Coast, New England states, and Alaska pay their nurses the best, but the cost of living in these areas can also be high. The lowest-paying states are in the Midwest and some Southeastern states.

The top-paying areas for perinatal nurses include:

• San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA: $174,370
• Vallejo-Fairfield, CA: $171,620
• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: $170,780
• Napa, CA: $166,180
• Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA: $154,510
• Santa Rosa, CA: $152,930
• Modesto, CA: $145,190
• Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA: $140,880
• San Luis Obispo–Paso Robles–Arroyo Grande, CA: $140,560
• Stockton-Lodi, CA: $138,420

Perinatal nurses with specialty certifications and higher-level education can earn more than nurses who are not certified. Perinatal nurse pay is often based on experience and education level.

Are Perinatal Nurses in High Demand?

Birth rates are decreasing all over the first world, with many young people waiting longer to conceive and the availability of contraception. Perinatal nursing can be hard to break into, but nurses who enter this field straight out of nursing school will most likely keep a job in this specialty as long as they want it. Even though perinatal nursing is a coveted field, the current U.S. nursing shortage means many specialties are hiring nurses with no experience in that specialty, so this may be a good time to make a change.

Additional Resources for Perinatal Nurses

To learn more about becoming a perinatal nurse, check out these additional resources:

• National Perinatal Association
• Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
• The Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing
• National Association of Neonatal Nurses