About the role
Midwives provide advice, care and support for women, their partners and families before, during and after childbirth. They help women make their own decisions about the care and services they access. They care for new born children, providing health education and parenting support for the first 28 days, after which care transfers to a health visitor.
Midwives are personally responsible for the health of both mother and child and only refer to obstetricians if there are medical complications. They work in multidisciplinary teams in both hospital and increasingly, community healthcare settings.
Employability
Midwives work very intimately and hands on with their female patients. And with places at university quite difficult to obtain, your character to do the job is even more important than usual. Some helpful attributes for the role of midwife include:
- Enjoy working with women of all ages and ethnicity
- Excellent interpersonal skills and good communicator
- Demonstrably want to make a difference to patient lives/li>
- Ability to listen, empathetic attitude towards relaxing the patient
- Problem solving, scientific nature
- Adaptable to new techniques and sophisticated equipment
- Organisational skills to safely collate patient information and data
Career Entry
Aspiring midwives in the UK must attend university to obtain a BSc in midwifery, one that is approved by the NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council) in order to enter the job market. It is important that you check with individual universities for specific entry requirements for the relevant nursing degree courses but it is likely you will be required to have:
5 GCSE’s (A*-C grade) and 3 A Levels (or equivalent) with high grades. 2 should preferably be science subjects with biology usually classed an essential
A degree in midwifery is 50% practical experience, working under supervision and takes places in hospitals, clinics and the community. Midwifery degrees take either 3 or 4 years. The good news is that student Midwives are funded by a non-repayable means-tested bursary and tuition fees are normally paid for you.
Nursing cadets: If you do not hold any of the above qualifications you can apply for a new initiative called the nursing cadet scheme (see NHS Careers).
Employers & Salaries
The majority of midwives are employed by NHS Trust hospitals, with a smaller but still significant percentage in private hospitals and clinics. Salary for midwives on the NHS is tightly stratified by length of service and experience.
Some typical salaries are detailed below.
| Entry level midwives (depending on location) | £21,176 | Band 5 |
| Substantive grade for Midwives | £25,472 | Band 6 |
| Senior Roles | £30,460 | Band 7 |
| Midwife Consultants up to | £67,134 | Band 8c |
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