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National Association of Neonatal Nurses is the professional organization (NANN) nann.org
What Is Neonatal Nursing?
Neonatal nursing is a subspecialty of nursing that works with newborn infants born with a variety of problems ranging from prematurity, birth defects, infection, cardiac malformations, and surgical problems. The neonatal period is defined as the first month of life; however, these newborns are often sick for months. Neonatal nursing generally encompasses care for those infants who experience problems shortly after birth, but it also encompasses care for infants who experience long-term problems related to their prematurity or illness after birth. A few neonatal nurses may care for infants up to about 2 years of age. Most neonatal nurses care for infants from the time of birth until they are discharged from the hospital.
https://youtu.be/v-6QM1SLotw (YouTube – What is Neonatal Nursing?)
You can expect to work in a hospital setting, either in a level II nursery with less acutely ill or convalescing infants or a level III nursery with the most critically ill patients. You can expect to work with as many as four infants at a time, though that ratio varies depending on how ill patients are.
After working with neonates for a time, many neonatal nurses choose to take a national certification test to validate their knowledge. You may choose to be part of a neonatal transport team or participate on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) team that provides heart-lung bypass for critically ill infants. You may develop leadership skills as a charge nurse or stabilization nurse in moderate- or high-risk deliveries.
Neonatal care and neonatal nursing advocacy priorities include:
- Disparities within Neonatal Care
- Access to Care
- Race and Access to Human Milk
- Nursing and APRN Workforce Development, Recruitment, and Research
- Mental Health of NICU Families
- Paid Family Leave
- Mental Health of Neonatal Nurses and APRNs
- Environmental Justice and Climate Impacts on Neonates
- Nutrition and Direct Provision of Human Milk
A 2025 JAMA Pediatrics study of 247 neonatal nurses found:
- 89% held a baccalaureate degree or higher; 23.5% had specialty certification.
- 53.8% worked day shifts, 40.5% night shifts, and 5.3% rotating shifts.
- Average NICU experience: 5.7 years; tenure in current NICU: 68.4 months.
- Weekly hours worked: 31.6 hours (SD 8.9).
By degree type:
Bachelor: 57%, Associate: 29%, Master’s: 8%, Diploma: 4%, Other degrees: 2%
Demographics
89.4% of neonatal nurses are women and 10.6% of neonatal nurses are men.
Women earn 93¢ for every $1 earned by men
Male income $77,834
Female income $72,770
The most common ethnicity among neonatal nurses is White, which makes up 65.2% of all neonatal nurses. Comparatively, 12.0% of neonatal nurses are Black or African American and 9.3% of neonatal nurses are Asian.
- White, 65.2%
- Black or African American, 12.0%
- Asian, 9.3%
- Hispanic or Latino, 8.8%
- Unknown, 4.2%
- American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
Neonatal nurse age breakdown
The average age of neonatal nurses is 40+ years old, representing 59% of the neonatal nurse population. 30-40 yrs 28% and 20-30 is 14%.
Breakdown by race:
| Race | Male Age | Female Age |
| Black or African American | 45 | 45 |
| Unknown | 39 | 40.5 |
| Asian | 39 | 44 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 39 | 38 |
| White | 42 | 44 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 42 |
Neonatal nurse jobs by industry
The most common industries for neonatal nurses are health care (86%), education (5%) and government (2%).
Workforce Context
The 2024 U.S. Maternal Health Workforce Brief reports that neonatal nurses are part of the maternal health workforce, with about 201,000 RNs specializing in neonatology nationwide Bureau of Health Workforce. This includes nurses with maternal/perinatal or neonatal care responsibilities.
Which city has the most Neonatal Nurses?
By looking through more than 460 resumes, we found that the most popular places for neonatal nurses are New York, NY and Chicago, IL.
Tennessee is ranked 18th with 1,928 jobs and an average salary of $67,792 annually. (Zippia.com)
Neonatal Nurse Demographics and Statistics [2026]: Number Of Neonatal Nurses In The US
