The Perinatal Nurse assesses, analyzes, prioritizes, plans and evaluates care in collaboration with women and families in both normal and complex situations. Nursing care includes antenatal care, intrapartum care, immediate postpartum care, breastfeeding support, infant care and care following perinatal loss.

1. Current Certificate of Registration with the College of Nurses on Ontario as a Registered Nurse
2. Diploma or Baccalaureate degree in Nursing
3. Current BCLS and NRP certifications
4. Successful completion of a recognized Perinatal Certificate Program with a maternal-fetal focus (within the past 2 years), or evidence of current work in progress with a documented plan for completion or successful completion of the Canadian Nurses Association Perinatal Certification Exam (within the past 5 years)
5. Successful completion of a recognized Breastfeeding Certificate Program (within the past 5 years), or evidence of current work in progress with a documented plan for completion, or current certification as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant exam
6. Current Fetal Monitoring Certification from the Association of Women�s Health and Obstetrical and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) or current experience in interpreting fetal heart tracings from an electronic fetal monitor
7. Recent experience in the care and support of women and their families throughout labour and birth and during the immediate postpartum period (within the past 2 years)
8. Recent experience in providing care to pregnant women with varying degrees of obstetrical risk ranging from low to high risk
9. Recent experience in the care and support of antenatal women and their families
10. Current knowledge of, and recent experience (within the past 2 years) in the care of the newborn during the transitional period
11. Vascular access and venipuncture
12. Demonstrate knowledge, skill and judgment in caring for women with epidural/spinal analgesia and epidural/spinal anesthesia during labour and birth
13. Demonstrate knowledge, skill and ability in health teaching of women and their families during the antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum periods
14. Current knowledge of the physiological, psychosocial and emotional needs of the pregnant women and their families
15. Current knowledge, skills and judgment in caring for women and their families pre-operatively and peri-operatively including the roles of scrub and circulating nurse and in the care of women in the Post Anesthetic Care Unit (within the past 2 years) or successful completion of the Perioperative Certification Program