Unit Description: 8 high risk antepartum/birthing suites, 2 operating rooms, 4 recovery/triage rooms.

Patient Population: Labor and Delivery (L&D) is a unique patient care area that provides services to women of all ages experiencing low and high-risk pregnancy, including high risk ante-partum and obstetric 'urgent care' visits.

Unit Information: The healthcare team is composed of RN's, physicians, midwives, nursing assistants, clerks, and surgical technicians. Nurses receive a six- to- eight week clinical orientation based on their prior experience. Nurses work 8 and 12 hour shifts. They are certified in neonatal resuscitation and are encouraged to seek certification in critical care obstetrics.

Nurses are experts in fetal monitoring interpretation and facilitate multiple modes of birthing procedures to support and enhance an individual's birthing experience. Nurses have the opportunity to participate in various levels of patient care including labor support, epidural analgesia, labor suppression, antenatal testing, monitoring ante and post-partum mothers who are critically ill, and scrub and circulate for cesarean sections, tubal sterilization, and cerclage procedures. Staff participate in telephone triage, recover patients who are post-procedure and collaborate with other adult patient areas who may be caring for a mother. Nurses have identified and implemented practice changes that develop skills in labor assessment and diagnosis.

Location: 6th floor, John Pappajohn Pavilion