Gary Flockhart discovers that the role of a midwife isabout more than delivering babies

If you thought being a midwife was just about delivering babies, better think again.

More often than not, a midwife is the main port of call for a woman during her pregnancy, throughout her labour and delivery – and also the early postnatal period.

She – and far less often, though occasionally, he – is tasked with supporting women to make informed decisions about the care and services they receive and providing health education and parenting advice until care is transferred to a health visitor.

Midwifery can be an extremely rewarding career, and it’s quite common to hear those who have chosen the profession describing their job as “privileged”.

At present, there’s a chronic shortage of midwives in the UK, and this means there are plenty of opportunities for employment – be it with the NHS or at one of the many private birthing centres and hospitals.

The average working week for a midwife is usually around 37.5 hours, and is likely to include both day and night shifts.

Community and independent midwives are regularly on call 24 hours a day, and most will be part of an on-call rota system at some point in their career.

Midwifery is a relatively wellpaid career. The NHS pay scale for a newly-qualified midwife starts at £21,692 (Band 5) per year, and you can then progress to Band 6, which ranges from £26,041 to £34,876. Salaries at Band 7, which is a more senior level, such as managing a team of midwives, are in the region of £31,072 to £40,964.

However, it’s also worth noting that shift allowance and overtime can increase your take home pay considerably.

A career as a midwife would suit you if you are a calm, caring person, but you’ll also need good communication skills and the ability to work well as part of a team.

To practise as a midwife in the UK, you must be registered with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC), having completed an approved pre-registration midwifery programme, which lasts three years full-time. Half of the course is spent studying at university, while the other half is based in practical placements to provide you with hands-on experience.

Part-time courses are available to those who are working in a relevant role and typically take five to six years to complete.

If you’re already a qualified nurse, then you’ll be able to take a midwiferyshortprogramme,which will allow you to qualify sooner than the three-year course.

Jacque Gerrard, from the Royal College of Midwives, warns wouldbe midwives that the job requires “sheer hard work”, “determination” and “commitment to the cause in terms of being really ambitious” to be successful.

However, she adds that it’s “the most rewarding and satisfying job in the world”.