Midwife
Also advertised as: Band 5 Midwife, childbirth assistant, community midwife, Community Midwife, consultant midwife, foetal nurse
Cares for women and families through pregnancy, birth and the early postnatal weeks.
What the job involves
Midwives lead the care of low-risk pregnancies and support obstetric teams in complex cases, working in hospitals, birth centres and the community. The job blends clinical skill with continuity of care, often building relationships with the same families across months. Shift patterns include nights and weekends, and births rarely keep to a rota.
Typical responsibilities
- Carry out antenatal checks and screening
- Support women through labour and birth
- Monitor mother and baby wellbeing
- Provide postnatal and feeding support
- Refer complications to obstetric teams
Common employers
- NHS maternity units
- Birth centres
- Community midwifery teams
Pay, hours and working environment
Typical pay
£29,000 – £32,000 a year
With experience
£38,000 – £47,000 a year
Typical hours
37.5 hours across a 24/7 rota including nights
Working environment
Hospital wards, birth centres and home visits
Remote working
on_site
Demand for this work
high
Pay ranges are indicative guidance drawn from advertised UK vacancies and published careers information. They are not an offer, and actual pay varies by employer, location and experience.
Skills and qualifications
Core skills
- Clinical assessment
- Calm decision making
- Communication
- Emotional resilience
- Record keeping
Transferable skills you may already have
- Working under pressure
- Caring for people through change
- Team coordination
Requirements employers ask for
- Clinical assessment
- Calm decision making
- Communication
- Emotional resilience
- Record keeping
- BSc Midwifery degree
- NMC registration
- NMC registration
- Enhanced DBS check
- listen actively
- provide postnatal care
- support informed consent
- anaesthetics
- manage healthcare users' data
- sex education
- comply with legislation related to health care
- promote inclusion
- advise on family planning
- pharmacology
- carry out treatment prescribed by doctors
- work in a multicultural environment in health care
Useful but not essential
- Working under pressure
- Caring for people through change
- Team coordination
- Experience as a maternity support worker
- Newborn life support training
- employ foreign languages in care
- sociology
- phytotherapy
- use different communication channels
- homeopathy
- pedagogy
- apply acupuncture
- employ foreign languages for health-related research
Helpful qualifications
- Experience as a maternity support worker
- Newborn life support training
Licences and checks
- NMC registration
- Enhanced DBS check
Ways into this career
A degree is only one route. Where an apprenticeship, work-experience or qualification route exists, it is listed here alongside the academic option.
Apprenticeships and work-based routes
- Nursing Associate then top-up degree route (less common for midwifery)
Degree and college routes
- Related subject: Biology
- Related subject: Health and social care
- Related subject: Chemistry
Where this career can lead
next
Senior Midwife
next
Consultant Midwife
next
Maternity Matron
The good parts and the hard parts
What people enjoy
- Deeply rewarding continuity of care
- National shortage keeps demand strong
- Clear NHS pay progression
What people find hard
- Emotionally demanding when outcomes are poor
- Unsociable shift patterns
Common questions
- Do you need a degree to become a midwife?
- No. As well as degree routes, this career can be entered through an apprenticeship or by building experience and qualifications on the job. required
- How much does a midwife earn in the UK?
- Typical advertised pay runs from £29,000 to £32,000 a year, rising towards £47,000 with experience. Figures are indicative guidance rather than an offer.
- What skills transfer into this career?
- Skills that transfer well include Working under pressure, Caring for people through change, Team coordination.
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Where this information comes from
- National Careers Service
- Institute for Apprenticeships
Last reviewed 14 September 2026.
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