The health sectors are one of the most highest-paid industries in the world. Those in this line of work usually earn excellent rates depending on the country and firm in the world they are in. A maternity nurse is an essential health worker, who is highly sorted for by most medical establishments. We will look at maternity nurse duties, qualifications, and salary ranges in the United States and the UK.
Who is a maternity nurse?
A maternity nurse is a health official who assists and cares for young mothers and their child health till they leave the clinic. This job requires someone with a degree, some training in childcare and fetal regulation. They can be found in maternity clinics, hospital wards, child-bearing centers, and community health offices.
Duties of a Maternity Nurse
Here are some important duties of a maternity nurse.
Always be available
This job requires the individual to work around 8 hours to 18 hours daily to provide support at any time needed. Depending on the nursing mother or hospital arrangements, sometimes they are required 24 hours.
Tutor and care for newborns
He or she is required to provide emotional or physical mentoring for infants for the main time. This could be related but not limited to dressing, cleaning, and bathing the child.
Provide breastfeeding advice
The importance of breastfeeding cannot be jettisoned for infants. Therefore, the maternity nurse may be told to provide health advice to new mothers who want to breastfeed their child.
Help mothers in recovering
If a recent mother gets sick during and after delivery, they would be required to offer health support, especially to women who have just undergone C-sections and those with post-natal depression.
Qualifications and trainings required of a maternity nurse
Depending on who is employing, a maternity nurse should have some certifications, training, and degrees before employment, they are:
Nursing degree
A nursing mother should have an associate nursing degree given by colleges or health institutions. He or she could also have a bachelor’s degree in science which can be gotten from many universities around.
A registered nursing license
A plethora of clinics requires their maternity nurses to be fully licensed nurses instead of Licensed practical nurses. To get these nursing permits, you need to pass the NCLEX-RN exams or alternatives. This is usually organized by the National association of state board of nursing.
Certifications
While there isn’t a maternity nursing degree, there are some certifications that are valuable and could put you ahead of your peers while searching for jobs. You could get certifications in fetal regulation, newborn nursing, and post-natal monitoring.
Salaries of a maternity nurse in the United States?
The average wage of a maternity nurse in the US is about $88,678 as of April 1, 2021. However, salaries could be between $78,376 to $112,241 depending on education, certifications, training, and years of experience.
Maternity nurse salary in the UK
In the United Kingdom, they are required to pay their tax and insurance from their salaries. Rates depend on babies they look after like:
- One baby—£150-£185 for 24 hours
- Twins—£200-£250 for 24 hours
- Triplets—£255-£289 for 24 hours
This salary is based on age, education, and years of experience in the job.
A maternity nurse is a job with immense prospects, however, to reap the benefits attached to the job, certifications and experience come to play.
