This three-year masters course has been designed for graduates who would like to gain the knowledge, skills and values necessary to register as midwives on the Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) professional register. This is an NMC approved course.
At least 50 per cent of learning is practice-based. Students will work with midwives in hospitals and the community, caring for women and birthing people, and their families through pregnancy and birth and providing postnatal care.
Students will be taught by experienced midwives, healthcare specialists and wider NHS experts. They will study a wide range of subjects that provide the scientific knowledge base for midwifery practice, such as maternal and neonatal physiology and care; health promotion and education; professional, ethical and legal issues; and research. Students will be exposed to a variety of educational and practice settings and encouraged to view learning as a lifelong process. Reflection is emphasised throughout the course to enhance the integration of theory and practice.
Teaching includes academic study and clinical practice experience. Students will have access to well-equipped skills laboratories and simulation suites where they can use clinical equipment and practise on mannequins and teaching models that are relevant to maternity care.
The majority of midwives work in the NHS, either in the community working alongside GPs, district nurses and social workers, or in hospital environments in partnership with obstetricians, anaesthetists and neonatologists. Others work in private maternity hospitals or practice independently.
