Midwifery

Midwifery is one of the oldest health professions and one of the most consequential. Midwives support women and birthing people through pregnancy, labour, birth and the postnatal period, providing clinical care, emotional support and health guidance at a time of profound significance in people's lives. The role demands advanced clinical skills, sound professional judgement, the ability to work calmly under pressure and a genuine commitment to woman-centred, evidence-based care.

At the University of Cumbria you will train for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, following a three-year full-time programme that combines academic study with extensive clinical placement. You will develop clinical competence across the full scope of midwifery practice, including antenatal care, intrapartum care and postnatal support, while also studying the underpinning sciences, including physiology, pharmacology and public health, that inform safe and effective practice. You will engage with the legal, ethical and professional frameworks that govern midwifery, and you will develop the reflective practice and communication skills that are central to professional midwifery identity.

Clinical placements in hospitals, birth centres and community settings are central to your education. They give you the opportunity to develop and consolidate clinical skills in real care environments under the supervision of qualified midwives and other healthcare professionals, building the competence and confidence you need to practise independently on qualification.

Graduates register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as Registered Midwives and work across NHS maternity services, independent midwifery, birth centres and community settings. With experience, midwives may progress to roles as consultant midwives, managers, educators or researchers. Advanced practice roles and postgraduate study in areas such as public health, neonatal care or midwifery education are also pathways for those who want to develop specialist expertise.