Midwife

As well as the essential antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care they provide, midwives also help patients make their own decisions about the support and services they access during pregnancy and labour. You'll continue to give health education and parenting advice until care is transferred to a health visitor.

Midwives are responsible for the care of patients and their babies and will refer to obstetricians and other specialists if medical complications arise. Work is carried out in multidisciplinary teams across a range of settings, including hospitals, birth centres and at home.

Responsibilities

As a midwife, you'll need to:

• monitor and examine patients throughout pregnancy, labour and birth
• develop, deliver and assess a personalised care and support plan
• provide full antenatal and postnatal care, including screening, examinations and health education
• identify high-risk pregnancies and refer to obstetricians or other specialists when needed
• provide support through labour and birth, including monitoring the baby and managing pain relief
• offer advice and practical support on caring for a newborn, including infant feeding
• provide emotional support following difficult experiences such as miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death
• promote health and wellbeing by providing unbiased information about pregnancy, birth and early parenthood
• keep accurate records and complete clinical documentation to support safe, effective care
• liaise with other health and social care professionals to ensure continuity of care
• participate in the training and supervision of student midwives and junior colleagues.

Salary

• Newly qualified midwives in England start on salaries of £31,049 to £37,796 (Band 5 of the NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) pay rates).
• With experience, salaries typically range from £38,682 to £46,580 (Band 6). Specialist and lead midwives can earn between £47,810 and £54,710 (Band 7).
• Midwife consultants and heads of midwifery can earn salaries of between £64,455 and £88,682 (Band 8b to 8c).

Salaries in London attract a high-cost area supplement. There are variations in pay between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Pay and other benefits in the private sector vary by employer and role.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

A full-time NHS working week is usually around 37.5 hours and may involve day and night shifts, weekends and bank holidays. Shifts are often 8 to 12 hours long. In some community roles, you may be part of an on-call rota.

Part-time and flexible working options may be available, depending on your employer.

Some midwives are self-employed and work as independent practitioners, offering private or continuity-of-care services.

What to expect

• You can work in a range of settings, including hospital maternity units, birth centres, midwife-led units, general practices and in the community.
• You'll work as part of a multidisciplinary team, liaising with professionals such as maternity support workers, obstetricians, health visitors, GPs and neonatal nurses.
• Men and some ethnic minority groups remain underrepresented in midwifery. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is working to ensure equality, diversity and inclusion in the profession, through Together in Practice.
• The work can be physically and emotionally demanding and may involve supporting families through sensitive situations such as bereavement, safeguarding concerns and domestic abuse.
• You may have to travel to patients' homes or attend births during the day or night, but overnight absences from home and overseas travel are unlikely.

Qualifications

To practise as a midwife in the UK, you must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). To register, you must complete a pre-registration midwifery degree (undergraduate or postgraduate) or a midwifery degree apprenticeship delivered by an NMC-approved education institution (AEI).

Full-time courses last three years. Entry requirements vary but typically include three A-levels (or equivalent), including a science or social science, plus GCSEs in English, maths and a science. For Masters courses, you'll usually need a 2:2 degree or above. Some courses offer a foundation year if you don't have the required qualifications.

If you're already a registered adult nurse, you may be able to apply for a shortened pre-registration midwifery programme, typically lasting 18 months to two years. This leads to dual registration with the NMC.

Half of the course is spent studying at university, while the other half is spent on clinical placements in a range of settings to provide you with hands-on experience. You'll learn how to understand and facilitate normal childbirth, as well as to identify potential complications, carry out emergency measures and ask for help from other professionals when needed.

Midwifery degree-apprenticeships combine paid work in a relevant role with academic study, allowing you to learn on the job. Search for vacancies on NHS Jobs and Find an apprenticeship.

You can search for an NMC-approved midwifery programme on the NMC website. Course availability and entry requirements vary, so check with universities before applying.

Acceptance on to a course is subject to satisfactory health clearance and a criminal records check. Having a criminal conviction or caution won't automatically bar you from working in the NHS.

Eligible pre-registration midwifery students studying at a university in England can receive funding support of at least £5,000 per year. You don't have to pay it back and are still able to access funding for tuition and maintenance loans from the Student Loans Company. Find out more at Health Careers: Financial support at university.

For details of financial support available elsewhere in the UK, see:

• Student Awards Agency Scotland
• Student Awards Services (Wales)
• Northern Ireland Direct Government Services

Information on becoming a midwife and making your application stand out is available at Midwife Career.

Skills

You'll need to have:

• excellent communication and interpersonal skills to communicate clearly with patients and their families
• a caring and calm manner, with emotional resilience to cope with challenging and sensitive situations
• the ability to react quickly, decisively and effectively in times of stress or when immediate decisions need to be made during labour
• excellent observation and clinical assessment skills to recognise complications and respond appropriately
• strong organisational and time management skills to prioritise care and manage a busy workload
• a methodical and disciplined approach to work, with the ability to be assertive when necessary
• strong teamworking skills for liaising effectively with a range of health and social care professionals
• strength, stamina and physical fitness
• a commitment to equal treatment for all patients, irrespective of their background or circumstances.

Work experience

You will need to show course providers that you understand the role of a midwife and the work they do. Due to confidentiality and safeguarding, it can be difficult to find a work placement in a midwifery setting, but you should try to speak to midwives about their work and, if possible, arrange some work shadowing. There are also virtual work experience opportunities that explore careers in midwifery.

Relevant voluntary or paid work experience in a healthcare or social care setting, such as a hospital, care home, charity or family hub, is a distinct advantage. Experience as a healthcare assistant or maternity support worker is useful. You could also support parents, work with breastfeeding groups, or volunteer with organisations helping families affected by bereavement or miscarriage.

Work experience from other areas that develop your communication and customer service skills is also valued.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

Most midwives are employed by the NHS, working in:

• hospitals - on antenatal wards, labour wards (obstetric units), postnatal wards and neonatal units, as well as in triage and assessment
• midwifery-led maternity units and birth centres
• the community - at GP surgeries, clinics, children's centres and in homes.

You can also find employment in private hospitals, independent practices and the armed forces.

Some midwives work as self-employed independent practitioners, offering private or continuity-of-care services, although this is less common than NHS employment. You may combine NHS employment with independent work.

University hospitals may also employ midwives in lecturer-practitioner or research roles through partnerships between trusts and universities.

Look for job vacancies at:

• HealthJobsUK.com
• Jobs.hscni.net - health and social care jobs in Northern Ireland.
• NHS Jobs - England and Wales.
• NHSScotland Jobs
• Nursing Times Jobs

Specialist recruitment agencies, such as Pulse, also handle vacancies. A searchable directory is available at Nursing Agencies List.

Professional development

Newly registered midwives usually begin their first role with a period of preceptorship, which provides structured support as they transition into professional practice and build confidence. In Scotland, newly qualified midwives can take part in the Flying Start NHS programme.

You must renew your registration with the NMC every three years through revalidation, which requires a commitment to continuing professional development (CPD), reflective practice and safe, effective working.

CPD can include workshops, conferences, online learning and development gained through day-to-day practice. Find out more about NMC revalidation requirements.

There are opportunities to extend your role by taking specialist courses in areas such as perinatal mental health, infant feeding, teaching in clinical practice and research.

Many midwives join professional bodies such as the Royal College of Midwives to access training, events, guidance and career support.

Further post-registration study is possible at postgraduate certificate, diploma or Masters level, and those interested in research may also progress to PhD study. Search for postgraduate courses in midwifery.

Career prospects

There are a range of opportunities to progress your career as a midwife. With experience and further training, you could move into a specialist role in areas such as:

• antenatal screening
• bereavement
• home births
• infant feeding and breastfeeding support
• mental health
• neonatal care
• public health.

With further experience, you could work as a lead midwife or labour ward manager, leading and managing care, or take on professional midwifery advocate (PMA) responsibilities, focusing on supporting staff, restorative clinical supervision and professional advocacy.

There are also opportunities to move into very senior roles such as consultant midwife or head of midwifery services, playing a key role in shaping services, leading improvements and influencing policy.

Alternatively, you could go into teaching or research within a healthcare setting or a university.

There are some opportunities to work abroad with organisations such as Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) or Médecins Sans Frontières. Eligibility requirements vary between countries, so check before applying.