Midwifery Practice

Midwifery is a healthcare profession centred on supporting women and birthing people through pregnancy, labour, birth, and the postnatal period, and on ensuring the health and wellbeing of newborns. Midwives are autonomous practitioners who make clinical decisions, provide evidence-based care, and advocate for the people they support during one of the most significant experiences of a person's life. The profession requires clinical knowledge, practical skill, compassionate communication, and the emotional resilience to work in demanding, sometimes unpredictable, circumstances.

At the University of Sunderland, this three-year, full-time degree combines academic study with substantial clinical practice, preparing you for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. You will train in advanced simulation facilities that replicate real clinical environments, gaining experience before working in real practice settings. The programme involves collaboration with other healthcare students, reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of maternity care, and practical experience runs throughout the degree in a range of clinical environments.

Theory and practice are integrated from the start, developing the clinical judgement, professional skills, and evidence-based practice that the role requires.

Graduates qualify to register as midwives and to work in NHS maternity units, birth centres, community midwifery teams, and independent practice. The profession offers significant career development opportunities, including specialism in areas such as neonatal care, antenatal education, midwifery-led care, and advanced clinical roles. Many midwives go on to postgraduate study in midwifery, maternal health, or nursing, and some move into academic, research, or leadership roles.

Midwifery is a profession that combines clinical rigour with deep human significance, and it offers the kind of career that makes a lasting difference to the people in your care.