So, do you want to go into nursing? Career-wise, you’re making a great choice. Nurses have an impressively high median salary and an amazing career outlook, with an expected 6% increase in field growth in the next 10 years. Not only is this line of work in high demand, it’s also a net positive on the world. Nurses are the backbone of all healthcare systems. Sure, doctors go through all that medical schooling in order to legally diagnose, and do the more complicated, specialized jobs, but the hospital would be absolutely nothing without its RNs (registered nurses).
Nurses are trained for more hands-on experience. They’re the gateway to every doctor's visit and the motor to every treatment, and there’s nowhere nurses are more important than in labor and delivery. L&D is a field carried by nurses. Exactly what an L&D nurse does varies from hospital to hospital and pregnancy to pregnancy. Some are the classic, highly trained midwives, who, in about 10% of hospital births, are delivering the babies themselves. Usually, this is done by an OB/GYN, who is an MD, but midwives have the ability to deliver as well.
Most L&D nurses, though, tend to work around childbirth, keeping new mothers and infants healthy. This is one of the most influential jobs in a hospital. These nurses make sure that the next generation is healthy and ready to enter life. In order to properly prepare yourself for this uplifting career path, you want to make sure you’re fully educated both in the principles of nursing and the specifics of labor and delivery. These are some of the best schools for you in that field.
We'll also cover the financial angle. I've your interested in going into L&D, you're in luck because students of the field have extremely generous options available to them. After filling out the FAFSA, you'll be able to apply for scholarships like the NHSC and PSLF, which can drop the cost of chasing your dream career to zero.
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Right in the middle of Minneapolis, and just a skip away from St. Paul, lies the University of Minnesota. Visually, UMN Twin Cities is stunning, and gives off the exact vibe you’d want from a college. It has a beautiful brick-built feel that lets its ivy grow. On top of that, they also have an amazing nursing program.
UMN is specifically praised for its Midwife nursing specialty. They pride themselves on having a top-notch set of clinical placements in established midwifery practices. UMN also has a program in which they pair midwifery students from the nursing school up with their OB/GYN residents at the medical school to study and work together. If you’re looking to go into midwifery, the University of Minnesota is certainly an amazing place for it, cementing it as one of the best colleges for labor and delivery nurses.
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee
One great place to gain your nursing skill is on Vanderbilt’s stunning campus, right in the heart of the music capital of the country. At Vanderbilt’s top of the line family nursing practitioner program, you can gain a ton of experience with patients of all ages. In addition to learning from some of the best family nursing professors in the country, if you already have two years of nursing experience you can come to Vanderbilt and study neonatal care. They also offer a nurse midwifery program—they really have their nursing bases covered! This is to be expected from the nation’s top ranked school for family nursing.
Of course, we don’t necessarily always stay in the exact program we expected to. Vanderbilt’s nursing program is great because they offer practically every nursing program under the sun. There are so many different branches of the nursing profession, so you should ask yourself a few questions before committing to a single path of nursing.
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina
Duke University is the classic answer to the question of the best colleges in the country. The Blue Devils’ home is so well-regarded for good reason. Their nursing school is top quality. This is made especially clear by this school’s distinction as a center of excellence by the National League for Nursing.
Where Duke really takes the cake, though, is in its simulation lab. This university’s nursing school has a lab in which students are able to get hands-on experience without having to pose any risk in a hospital environment. You can enter the workforce extremely prepared.
On top of that, Duke makes sure its nursing students are prepared for nursing globally. This can be especially important for midwifery, as that’s often a much more necessary role in countries with less developed healthcare systems. Duke will make sure you know all the necessary skills and languages to enter the world of natal nursing confidently.
How to fund your labor and delivery nursing education
This is the section most nursing school guides leave out entirely, and it's often worth more than the school ranking itself.
L&D nursing sits at the intersection of two of the most generous federal aid programs available to any healthcare professional: the NHSC Scholarship Program and the Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program. If you're planning a career in labor and delivery at a hospital or clinic serving underserved communities, you may be able to fund your education entirely through federal programs and eliminate debt you've already accumulated after graduation.
The NHSC Scholarship Program
The National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program is the most valuable scholarship available to nursing students entering primary care and maternal health fields.
What it covers: Full tuition, required fees, and a monthly living stipend of $1,503 (2025 figure) for the duration of your nursing program.
The service commitment: In exchange, you commit to serving full-time for a minimum of two years at an NHSC-approved health professional shortage area (HPSA) site after graduation. For most L&D nurses, this means a hospital, birth center, or clinic designated as a maternity care shortage area — a growing category given the maternal healthcare crisis in rural and underserved communities.
Who qualifies: US citizens enrolled or accepted in an accredited nursing program. Both BSN and nurse midwifery programs qualify. You apply during your program, not before enrollment.
The math: A two-year nursing program with annual tuition of $35,000 plus the $1,503/month stipend over 24 months represents roughly $106,000 in combined tuition coverage and living support — in exchange for two years of service in a community that genuinely needs you.
Apply at nhsc.hrsa.gov.
Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program
If you've already graduated with nursing school debt, the Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program is the parallel path to the NHSC Scholarship.
What it covers: 60% of your remaining qualifying student loan balance after a two-year service commitment at a Critical Shortage Facility. An optional third year of service adds another 25%, for a total of 85% of your qualifying loan balance repaid.
Who qualifies: Registered nurses, advanced practice registered nurses, and nurse faculty with qualifying student loan debt who work at a facility designated as a Critical Shortage Facility (CSF). L&D units at qualifying hospitals meet this criterion.
The timeline: Unlike PSLF, which requires 10 years of payments, Nurse Corps Loan Repayment delivers substantial debt relief in two to three years.
Apply at bhw.hrsa.gov/funding/apply-scholarship/nurse-corps.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
If you work as an L&D nurse at a qualifying employer — a nonprofit hospital, government-run healthcare facility, or other 501(c)(3) organization — you qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
PSLF forgives your remaining federal Direct Loan balance after 120 qualifying payments (10 years) under an income-driven repayment plan. The majority of hospital systems in the US are nonprofit and qualify as PSLF employers.
The key question to ask any hospital employer: "Is this organization a qualifying PSLF employer?" Most large hospital systems are. Confirm using the PSLF Employer Search at studentaid.gov before accepting a position if PSLF is part of your financial plan.
State-specific nursing scholarships
Most states run their own nursing scholarship and loan repayment programs, particularly for nurses willing to work in rural or underserved areas. These stack with federal programs in some cases. Check your state's health workforce agency for current programs.
These are some of the best colleges for labor and delivery nurses
Get a head start on life!
There are so many nursing programs out there, and they all offer a variety of different paths you can take on your journey to becoming a registered nurse. It’s always good to weigh all your options first, but plenty of people just really enjoy working with babies. If midwifery, delivery, and neonatal care are for you, you should definitely take a look into these schools and programs for your nursing degree.
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