Labor and delivery travel nurse
Also posted as L&D, OB and labor and delivery.
Usually 1–2 years of recent L&D experience, including fetal monitoring; many contracts want OB OR circulating. Most contracts require BLS and NRP; many prefer ACLS and AWHONN intermediate or advanced fetal monitoring. California, the only state with ratios in law, caps Labor & Delivery at 1 nurse to 2 patients in active labor (fewer for some high-risk situations).
Updated October 2026
Laboring patients, inductions, C-sections and fetal monitoring. Many L&D contracts also expect circulating in the OB OR.
What agencies ask for
- Experience
- Usually 1–2 years of recent L&D experience, including fetal monitoring; many contracts want OB OR circulating.
- Often preferred
- ACLS and AWHONN intermediate or advanced fetal monitoring
- Also expect
- A skills checklist and references from your recent Labor & Delivery managers, and a license for the state (or a multistate license where it applies).
Ratios and floating
California minimum: 1 nurse to 2 patients in active labor (fewer for some high-risk situations). Title 22 §70217
Traveler reports on Labor & Delivery ratios and floating appear here once a hospital's Labor & Delivery has 3 reports. Report a unit you worked on.
What Labor & Delivery travelers were offered
No Labor & Delivery offers shared yet. Pay is published as medians once 3 travelers have shared.
Ask before you sign
- Will I circulate or scrub for C-sections?
- Will I float to mother-baby or postpartum?
- Roughly how many births a month, and is there in-house anesthesia?
- What's the usual ratio on days and on nights, and who covers breaks?
- How many orientation shifts do travelers get, and are they paid?
- Which charting system does the unit use?
Questions
- What experience do you need to be a Labor and delivery travel nurse?
- Usually 1–2 years of recent L&D experience, including fetal monitoring; many contracts want OB OR circulating. Requirements are set by each hospital, so check the job post.
- What certifications do Labor & Delivery travel nurses need?
- Most Labor & Delivery contracts require BLS and NRP, and many prefer ACLS and AWHONN intermediate or advanced fetal monitoring. Bring current cards: agencies verify them before submitting you.
- What is the nurse-to-patient ratio for Labor & Delivery?
- Only California sets ratios in law: 1 nurse to 2 patients in active labor (fewer for some high-risk situations) (Title 22 CCR §70217). Elsewhere it's hospital policy, so ask on the interview.
Other specialties: ICU · ER · Med-Surg · PCU / Stepdown · Telemetry · OR · Pediatrics · NICU · Psych