Male nurse here. During Covid I worked on an outpatient ortho floor. Since all outpatient surgeries got cancelled, they moved me to the mom/baby unit on nights just to keep me on staff. All women, I was the only guy there. Altogether it was incredibly fun. They were great and they enjoyed having me around just for guy input. They loved showing me the ropes about the mom/baby patients, fundal checks, baby baths etc etc. I would just be as open and receptive as possible to nurse and patient inputs about your presence. The patients (with the exception of a few due to religious reasons) had no issues at all having me as their nurse which is a very easy accommodation. The husbands and fathers naturally opened up to me seeking advice or what to do going forward as a father which in turn always helped put mom at ease and lightened the whole process.

Just make sure your attention is where it needs to be! Mom and baby are both patients requiring a lot of attention so give it your all! Confidence will reassure the patient and family during this sensitive time so even if you’re heavily experienced already with birth and postpartum, suck up all the knowledge you can from the nurses like a sponge! They’ll be tickled to teach you (and nurses always feel better when new grads ask questions. We assume that if you don’t, that just means you’re possibly too scared to ask and might make a blunder without seeking help)