Did you know that Midwives are as old as time? Well not individually of course but the role of a Midwife as a birth attender has been around as long as women have been pregnant, so pretty much forever, but did you know that the name Midwife has been in used since it was first documented sometime around the 13th or 14th Century. The word Midwife literally means with (mid) women (wife) and is now a term protected by law; it is illegal to call yourself a Midwife if you do not hold the relevant qualification and are not registered with the NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council).
Historically there have been several routes of entry into Midwifery but today to qualify and be able to register with the NMC you must hold either a Midwifery Degree or a Midwifery Apprenticeship both of which involve a high level of study and work-based practice. In 2024 the average university was asking for:
- 5 passes at GCSE including Maths and English Language (Grade 5 or above)
- 128 UCAS points at A-level or equivalent (A/B/B) to include Health & Social Care, Psychology, Sociology or Science
University course fees of over £9,000 are now also payable each year of the degree course and Student Midwives (STMW) do not get a wage, however they do get a £5,000 bursary to help cover costs of travel to and from their work placements and any additional costs incurred. When on placements STMW are expected to work the same shifts as their mentors including Days, Nights and Weekends. Shifts are normally 12.5 hours when working on the wards and can vary from 7.5 hours upwards when working on Antenatal Clinic/Day Unit or in Community. Holding a clean driving license and having vehicular access is always a bonus as some placements can be quite a distance away from accommodation, however, this will not be a deal-breaker and University will always try their best to accommodate those who need to be on a public transport route wherever possible.
Midwifery education doesn’t end at graduation and receipt of your NMC PIN (Personal Identification Number) in fact passing your degree is only the start; a Midwife has a career-long CPD (Continuous Practice Development) ahead of them some of which is mandatory and many more opportunities to take on post-grad qualifications, attend conferences, submit research papers and much more all in bid to remain as up-to-date with clinical knowledge and evidence as possible but also to contribute towards that evidence-based knowledge and to ensure that Maternity Services provide the best care for women and their babies at all times. CPD counts towards the revalidation process that every registered Midwife must complete every three years. Revalidation is a process of providing extensive evidence that demonstrates your right to remain practicing as a Midwife and to remain on the NMC register. Failure to revalidate means you will be removed from the register until you either submit your evidence or you decide to no longer be a Midwife.
Beyond clinical NHS Midwifery there are so many career options;
- Independent (Private) Midwives
- Specialist non-clinical NHS Midwives (Clinical Educator, Retention and Recruitment, Safer Births, Substance Misuse, Governance, Audit…..)
- Non-clinical Midwife in the private sector (such as the Midwives within My Expert Midwife)
- Midwifery Lecturer
- Board member NMC, RCM (Royal College of Midwives)
If you or someone you know is interested in a career in Midwifery but are unsure how to start why not have a look at some of your local Universities and colleges for entry requirements and give their admissions team a call. Alternatively have a look at the NMC or the RCM for more information or why not contact our team advice@myexpertmidwife.com and one of our Midwives can respond directly. We have added a couple of stories below from two of our in-house Midwives who joined My Expert Midwife from the NHS which explains their route into Midwifery and how they practice as Midwives outside of the NHS and maintain their registration with the NMC.
Lesley Bland (aka LB)
Left sixth form in 1991 with 4 A-Levels completed a Sports Management degree with French and Spanish in 1995 with a 2:1(hons) and was sponsored to complete her dissertation by The Events Management Council. She secured a job working in Events Management and attended:
- The Grand National (including the year it was cancelled due to a bomb scare)
- The British Grand Prix at Silverstone (and gate-crashed a party hosted by Damon Hill and declined Mikka Hakkinen entry to the hospitality stand because he wouldn’t remove his helmet)
- The Gold Cup at Cheltenham (great craic)
- Wetherby Races on Boxing Day (tried to bring home a retired racehorse but drove a Golf at the time)
- The PGA Golf Tour (and had a quick putt with Gary Player)
- The Cricket (Test Matches were not her favourite)
- Some football matches (including a game in Nottingham that was a disaster start to finish but which was character building to say the least)
From there she was headhunted into the motor industry and then made a leap to recruitment where she worked her way up to senior HR and Finance recruiter. There was always a fascination for all things medical though and she continued to think about retraining but knew she didn’t want to be a nurse, a doctor or in fact anything traditionally considered. When she had her eldest child in 2002 it was a lightbulb moment and she decided to go back to uni to become a Midwife, however she had another two babies in very quick succession (all three in less than three years) and so this delayed things somewhat. When she was ready to start her studies it was apparent her ancient A-levels weren’t even the right subjects and so she enrolled on a 12 month Access to HE course at her local college, passed this with triple Distinction and was offered a place at University of Leeds where she completed her degree with a 2:1(hons). She chose to start her Midwifery Career at a large Teaching Hospital where she rotated through all areas and then moved five years later to be closer to home at a local District Hospital. An offer of a Senior role took her into an Educator’s role and a chance meeting with a former colleague led her to explore opportunities within My Expert Midwife. Lesley has been a part of the team at My Expert Midwife since 2022 and her expertise in Clinical Education and Antenatal Care means that she is using her skills daily both with our in-house teams and commercial partners to deliver evidence-based up-to-date clinically correct advice and support.
Charlotte Hoskin (Aka Char)
Left sixth form in 2003 with 4 A-Levels in Health and Social Care, Graphic design and Information Technology. She completed her Advanced Diploma in Adult Nursing in 2007 from The University of Leeds and worked as an orthopaedic nurse for one year before going to back to Leeds University to complete her midwifery degree in 2008. She rotated within her midwifery role in a Large Teaching hospital from working in a range of areas including antenatal, postnatal, delivery suite and a homebirth team. After 8 years she chose to move onto a smaller district hospital to develop her senior skills and become a delivery suite coordinator, back to university to do her Independent Prescribing and then onto General Practice to develop her advanced nursing practitioner role. Charlotte has been part of the My Expert Team since 2021. Her expertise in prescribing in pregnancy and intrapartum care means that she is using her skills daily often with the marketing team to deliver evidence-based up-to-date clinically correct advice and support.
Both Lesley and Charlotte support women and their families at face-to-face events such as The Baby Shows, and via our Social Media Channels on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook and on our Community Club App MEM Club by My Expert Midwife and our Podcasts Superpowered by My Expert Midwife. They have also had many articles published in journals and magazines both in print and online and have been approached on several occasions for expert commentary for National Media organisations.
