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Maternity nurse skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Diane Salvador Ph.D.,

Diane Salvador Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical maternity nurse skills. We ranked the top skills for maternity nurses based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 29.5% of maternity nurse resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a maternity nurse needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 maternity nurse skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how maternity nurses use patients:

Direct nursing care of hospitalized patients in the pediatric, neonatal and maternal-fetal medicine departments.
Provided family of patients with further information about care needed and dietary instructions.

2. BLS

Here's how maternity nurses use bls:

Labor and delivery Mother-baby nursing Triage PACU Nursery and Special care nursery Charge nurse EFM instructor NRP instructor ACLS and BLS certified
Perform resuscitation procedures according to BLS and ACLS guidelines on life threatening conditions and cardiopulmonary arrest.

3. OB

OB, short for an obstetrician, is a doctor who specializes in childbirth and healthcare for women in all stages of pregnancy, including preconception, pregnancy, labor and post-pregnancy, and the treatment of diseases of the female reproductive system. The obstetrician ensures that the mother and child receive the best prenatal care to ensure that labor and delivery go smoothly without complications and that the procedure is performed quickly and safely.

Here's how maternity nurses use ob:

Completed high-risk OB graduate nurse internship.
Provided orientation, education and initial assessment for OB patient assigned to Family Practice Clinic.

4. Family Education

Here's how maternity nurses use family education:

Participated in patient and family education and directed the activities of the ancillary personnel.
Performed maternal evaluation, fetal assessment, postpartum care and support, prenatal education, infant feeding and family education.

5. Pregnant Women

Here's how maternity nurses use pregnant women:

Assisted doctors in the care of pregnant women and in the delivery of babies.
Provided nursing care to pregnant women during labor, delivery and early postpartum.

6. Direct Patient Care

Here's how maternity nurses use direct patient care:

Provided direct patient care of the laboring mother through the birth and recovery, as well as the newborn at birth.
Provided direct patient care in the areas of labor and delivery, post-partum, ante-partum and newborn nursery.

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7. NICU

Here's how maternity nurses use nicu:

Work with RN in the Labor and Delivery Unit, Postpartum Unit, and NICU.
Evaluated medical emergencies, utilizing critical decision-making abilities ensuring proper treatment of critically ill infants and smooth operation of NICU.

8. NRP

Neonatal Resuscitation Program refers to a training program for providers of newborn resuscitation. It's a program created by the AAP and the American Heart Association to provide a comprehensive stepwise algorithm for assessing and resuscitating the infant at delivery.

Here's how maternity nurses use nrp:

Trained in lactation and NRP certified.

9. Pediatrics

Pediatrics is that branch of medicine that deals specifically with the well-being and health matters relating to infants, children, and teenagers entering into adulthood. People under the age of 18 are recommended to be under the care of a pediatrician instead of a normal doctor. However, this age limit is subject to vary in different countries. A professional of this medical branch is known as a pediatrician.

Here's how maternity nurses use pediatrics:

Provided support for the following: Mother baby unit, Pediatrics, Nursery, and a short term medical surgical unit.
Labor & Delivery Pediatrics Post Partum Nursery

10. Emotional Support

At its core, emotional support involves providing support, reassurance, acceptance, love, and encouragement. It is especially important in a time of stress/sadness as it stabilizes an individual and provides a positive foundation for trust. Honing this skill is important for individuals who want to pursue the career of caregivers and emotional support nurses. Their job includes monitoring mental health and helping patients to handle any mental challenge.

Here's how maternity nurses use emotional support:

Provided behavioral/emotional support and supervision.
Provided behavioral/emotional support and supervision.

11. Diabetes

Diabetes refers to a disease of uncontrolled sugar levels in the body.

Here's how maternity nurses use diabetes:

Received additional training to help assist patients and nurses with equipment and medication education and general information about diabetes.
Study implementation included monitoring glucose levels, adjusting insulin and OHA doses, and general diabetes education.

12. Mother

Here's how maternity nurses use mother:

Present in Delivery room and coached mother during delivery and assisted HCP with induction of labor.
Managed three departments; the Mother/Baby Unit, Prenatal Unit/Maternity Float Pool and OB/GYN surgical unit.

13. Baby

Here's how maternity nurses use baby:

Managed three departments; the Mother/Baby Unit, Prenatal Unit/Maternity Float Pool and OB/GYN surgical unit.
Performed new baby assessments and provided support to new mothers.

14. Hypertension

Here's how maternity nurses use hypertension:

Managed the care of high risk patient with seizure disorders, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes mellitus, bleeding issues.

15. Labor Delivery

Here's how maternity nurses use labor delivery:

Experience with labor delivery, newborn assessments, stabilization and post-surgical recovery care.
Labor Delivery & Postpartum setting-assess neonate and resuscitate according to NRP standards.

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What skills help Maternity Nurses find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on maternity nurse resumes?

Diane Salvador Ph.D.

Executive Director and Professor, Elmhurst University

I believe organizations are looking for nurses who can articulate in their cover letter what made their education experience unique - specific nursing electives, possible travel abroad that would translate into cultural competence or portfolios that list specific course accomplishments if available.

What soft skills should all maternity nurses possess?

Diane Salvador Ph.D.

Executive Director and Professor, Elmhurst University

The most important skill for new nursing graduates is critical thinking. You will be put into varying roles and assume different responsibilities. You must critically think and evaluate situations you find yourself in and make wise nursing decisions. Another important skill that we emphasize in education is communication - this is key to safe, quality care.

What hard/technical skills are most important for maternity nurses?

Diane Salvador Ph.D.

Executive Director and Professor, Elmhurst University

New nurses should be prepared to demonstrate proficiency in basic nursing care and procedures. It is important to realize that each hospital has its own policy and procedure to follow, so taking advantage of your nurse preceptor and orientation program will ensure you are familiar with these basic procedures.

What maternity nurse skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Michelle Hampton Ph.D.

Associate Professor, San Jose State University

I think there are always opportunities to work and gain experience once the nurse is licensed. They might need to be creative, flexible, and work where there's a need. That might be a specialty area they hadn't considered or a geographic area that requires some travel. I don't think a gap year is inevitable for all new graduates and there might be opportunities for them to find work, and they can always continue the learning process after you're employed, even if it's not your dream job. The more significant obstacle seems to be for students who are currently still in nursing programs.

Clinical sites weren't accepting students for several months, and now that they are again, they have significantly limited the number of students allowed at one time and the number of hours they can train. When a staff member or patient tests positive, students are pulled from the site for some time, and students are struggling to get the minimum number of hours required to continue progressing in the nursing program. Some schools have even suspended admission for new groups of students instead choosing to focus on getting the current students through the program.

What type of skills will young maternity nurses need?

Angela Mund

Vice President, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

To meet the needs of our current volatile and complex healthcare landscape, all healthcare providers will need to understand the business of healthcare, in addition to providing expert patient care. Starting in 2025, all graduates from nurse anesthesia programs will be awarded a doctoral degree, a doctorate in nursing practice (DNP), or a doctorate in nurse anesthesia practice (DNAP). These degree programs include additional anesthesia experience as well as an understanding of effective leadership, healthcare economics and reimbursement, the use of big data for improving patient outcomes, and evidence-based practice.

Do you want to know more?

List of maternity nurse skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a maternity nurse resume and required skills for a maternity nurse to have include:

Patients
BLS
OB
Family Education
Pregnant Women
Direct Patient Care
NICU
NRP
Pediatrics
Emotional Support
Diabetes

Mother
Baby
Hypertension
Labor Delivery
Post-Partum Care
Vital Signs
Patient Education
Clinical Knowledge
Medication Administration
Resuscitation
Care Nursery

Diagnostic Tests
GYN
Quality Patient Care
IV
Couplet Care
Primary Care
Health Education
Infant Care
Discharge Planning
Assessment

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Maternity Nurse Skills

Updated January 8, 2025

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