Maternity workforce strategy — transforming the maternity workforce. NHS workforce statistics — February Entry requirements and training midwifery. Agenda for change — pay rates. Annual equality, diversity and inclusion report Nursing and midwifery careers in Northern Ireland. Births in England and Wales, Office for National Statistics.
Job profile. Midwifery courses. State of maternity services report - Scotland. Royal College of Midwives. State of maternity services report - Wales. State of maternity services report — Northern Ireland. Midwifery is a challenging but hugely rewarding profession. In order to become a midwife you must complete a recognised course of study and become registered.
Here is some information to consider if you are interested in pursuing a career as a midwife. Before you apply to be a midwifery student, it is advisable that you research who midwives are, what their roles are, how and where they work, and how midwifery fits into the bigger picture of healthcare provision in Australia.
Make a point of talking to midwives who work in your community, including midwives who work at your local hospital, as well as private practising midwives. It will also be useful for you to talk to women who have just had babies to get their perspectives on maternity and midwifery services, as well as consumer groups such as Maternity Choices Australia and Homebirth Australia. Another tip is to join your local branch of the Australian College of Midwives and go to the branch meetings.
That will help you network with local midwives as well as become familiar with local and national issues. Australian Catholic University.
Everyone in class thought it was disgusting except one boy who said his mum had given birth at home and he was there for it. Plus, watching the Roots miniseries as a young child and seeing the women on that giving birth standing up really spoke to me. So when YouTube became a thing I would actively search for and watch birth vlogs, especially home birth videos.
The knowledge I would go on to learn and be able to share with other people was a driving factor of wanting to become a Midwife. In addition, the fact that I would also be able to empower the women who would be in my care and their partners really spoke to me. Also it is a bonus that I can work in another country as a Midwife and even better I would be able to volunteer with a charity like I have always dreamed of.
The bulk of the challenges come down to the financial strain that is on the NHS and how much money actually ends up going to the maternity services of each trust. This is a great initiative, however, when there has been more than two episodes of reduced fetal movements in a term pregnancy and induction is advised.
This increase in inductions of labour causes there to be more work for the Midwife without any extra help. And with England leaving the EU there is also the threat of a lot of the workforce leaving as they are European Midwives. A lot of women who get pregnant nowadays are women who would not have been able to get pregnant before and, therefore, are resulting in more high risk pregnancies that may need more intervention, which the NHS does not always have the resources for.
A dip in the number of student Midwives, the future of the profession, and the ageing Midwifery profession caused a gap where there is a shortage of Midwives, especially those capable of doing night shifts and working long days. This has caused Midwifery in some ways to become more about trying to manage these health conditions enough so that the woman can have a healthy pregnancy. And as you will see in the section below, the maternity workforce has a higher amount of pressure on them as well as a shortage of staff workforce.
There are a few government initiatives that have slowly been put into effect over the last few years in hopes of being fully implemented by the end of this year. The Department of Health want to improve the quality of the maternity services by encouraging Midwives to be more visible in community settings, which can allow women to choose to access them as a first instead of their GP, and having the Midwife be the lead health professional for pregnant women who do not have any complications.
They also want to encourage a safe and positive transition for women and their partners into parenthood, with women and their partners knowing their Midwives and being about to build a trusting relationship with them.
The Better Births initiative which they wanted to achieve by has been implemented throughout the maternity services in test batch areas. The main themes involved, which you will be able to see by the creation of new teams within different hospitals, are continuity of carer, better postnatal and perinatal mental health care, and the ability to work across boundaries in multidisciplinary teams to create a smooth and cohesive care plan for women.
Providing safer care for women involves working across departmental boundaries to ensure the appropriate referrals are made and that when are getting all of the care they need in a timely manner. Continuity of carer has been one of the leading changes to the maternity services in the UK with the creation of numerous continuity teams. These team will allow women to get the same information about their health and pregnancy, and also allow them to be able to grow a relationship with their Midwife and be able to trust in them.
It also allows for better personalised care plans to be made that are based on her specific needs, that encourages the woman to be more involve in her care and gives her the opportunity to make informed decisions. There have been quite a few governmental initiatives put into place to increase funding and access to mental health services for pregnant women as it is one of the leading causes of the Maternal Mortality Rate. Hopefully, Midwifery in the UK continues to grow with more funding being placed in such an important area of the NHS, and the implementation of the aforementioned initiatives and programs.
One of the biggest aims for Midwifery in the UK at this moment is for everyone to have access to continuity of care and for Better Births to become better implemented. As the data has shown that when women have one or two known Midwives there are an increase in better outcomes for women and their babies and the woman has a better experience of pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period.
This is such an important responsibility that has its challenges at times but is also really rewarding at the end of the day. See our careers hub section on Midwifery here. I'm a student Midwife studying at Kingston University, partnered with St. Georges in London. Depending on the way you prefer to learn you can opt to study a traditional midwifery degree.
This is mostly academic study combined with work placements to gain practical skills. Alternatively, you can complete an apprenticeship midwifery course that is for the most part workplace learning, with a smaller amount of academic study.
Midwifery is an incredibly rewarding vocation for anyone who cares for others and adores babies. Though midwives look after mothers, not just the baby, which is a common misconception of the role.
The reality is that midwives are by the side of expectant mothers often from conception, throughout the entire pregnancy and for a time in the postnatal period. Throughout this period, the roles and duties of a midwife vary and change, but for the most part you will:. As you will work with mothers of all backgrounds and religions, you need to be socially adept and respectful of all cultures and beliefs.
With such a variety of birthing preferences and facilities that offer support, midwives can work in a wide variety of settings. As such, you could be based in hospitals, as well as homes out in the community. There are certain midwifery uni course entry requirements you need to satisfy in order to study a degree. Traditionally, this consists of certain school and college qualifications.
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