Midwife

Midwife

On a midwife apprenticeship course, you’ll help give support, care and advice during pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period.

A midwife is a woman’s first and most important point of contact, acting as an advocate throughout her pregnancy, labour, and recovery. In this role, you will offer support, care, and direction and assist with births and newborn care. In addition, you’ll learn about normal physiological birth and how to help women with various types of delivery outcomes.

Individualised care will include preventative measures, detection of issues in mother and baby, encouragement of normal delivery, access to medical treatment or other required assistance, and emergency response.

This profession involves prenatal education and parenting preparation, which may also entail women’s health care. You’ll provide comprehensive prenatal care to women and antenatal and parenting classes to help them prepare for the baby’s birth and care for it once it’s born.

What you’ll learn

On a midwife apprenticeship course, you’ll learn to:

  • Consult with and refer to colleagues when providing care knowledge beyond one’s expertise or when the mother’s or baby’s needs exceed midwifery training.
  • Take responsibility and accountability for your practice, including assessing, developing, and enhancing your knowledge and skills and maintaining your fitness to practise.
  • Make and maintain a healthy and safe environment through preventing and controlling infection and encouraging health and well-being.
  • Consult with the woman for the first time.
  • Using various techniques, assess the woman’s bodily, social, and psychological needs.
  • Give information about screening options and overall health and well-being.
  • Work with the mother to develop plans specific to the lady’s, her baby’s, and family’s needs, circumstances, culture, and preferences.
  • Allow and empower the woman to investigate pre-pregnancy planning, pregnancy care, delivery, birth site, baby feeding preparations, postnatal support needs, and parenting preparation.
  • Allow and empower the woman to think about her own health, the health of her baby, her partner, and family, and how to improve it.
  • Consider the best data and change treatment strategies to improve outcomes for the woman and her infant.
  • Contribute to the enhancement of people’s and communities health and well-being
  • As required, contribute to audits to enhance the care of the mother, her infant, and her family.
  • Act as the woman’s primary caretaker throughout normal pregnancies.
  • Conduct physiological measures, mental assessments, and screening tests on the woman, and refer her if necessary.
  • Contribute to the woman’s support when her pregnancy is difficult or she has had a miscarriage.
  • Make crucial decisions in cooperation with the woman, her partner, and her family to ensure that other health professionals or agencies properly refer a woman or her baby.
  • Discuss and negotiate with other specialists about further actions as required.
  • Use appropriate clinical and technical techniques to monitor the woman’s and fetus’s health to optimise delivery results.
  • Assist the woman in maintaining her comfort throughout labour and delivery.
  • Build trust with the woman and her birthing partner to promote a positive delivery experience.
  • Implement necessary emergency steps to meet the health needs of the mother, foetus, or infant.
  • Prepare for and handle potential risks.
  • Assist a woman in managing her physical and psychological well-being and adjusting to motherhood by providing postnatal care.
  • Care for a woman recovering after delivery, including post-operative care for those who have had caesarean or assisted births.
  • Assist and advise the woman in parenting, relationship building, feeding and caring for her kid.
  • Encourage discussions about resuming sexual activity and future reproductive possibilities.
  • Provide support to a woman, her partner, and her family who are bereaved because of a miscarriage or the loss of a child.
  • Examine and care for babies immediately after birth, confirm vital signs and do an assessment and physical examination.
  • Conduct continuous assessments and provide baby care
  • Elevate and report safety issues as required.
  • Administer and administer medications and pain relief to the mother and baby in a safe way, calculating correctly and working within your area of knowledge and responsibility.
  • Act as a role model for colleagues, enabling them to reflect on and enhance their performance.
  • Delegate tasks and duties as needed.
  • Work across occupational boundaries to build professional networks.
  • Monitor or supervise the work of other team members.

Entry requirements

You’ll usually need:

  • Meet the entry requirements for a level 6 degree as set by the university
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship.
  • Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this before taking the end-point assessment.

Assessment methods

The End Point Assessment comprises two distinct assessment methods: 

  • Exam
  • Written Assessments

Restrictions and requirements

You’ll need to:

Duration and level

  • Duration: 48 months
  • Level: 6 – Degree Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship standard

More information about the Level 6 Midwife Apprenticeship standard can be found here.

Apprenticeship end point assessment

For more information about the End Point Assessment Process, please read the Institute of Apprenticeships’ information page.

Updated on February 18, 2024

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