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Life is full of surprises, uncertainties, and unexpected challenges, but there are a few things that we can always count on. Birth is a momentous occasion for expectant parents and families, and the midwifery team is on hand to support during an exciting but occasionally stressful time.
The midwifery team, which has many different roles within it, provides a significant supporting role throughout a person’s pregnancy, labour, and birth, as well as the short period after a baby is born. They’re on hand to make a real difference to a person’s experience of pregnancy and birth, and guide them through something they may have never experienced before.
Midwifery has many amazing and rewarding career opportunities, and it can make a huge difference to expectant parents and families. Midwifery roles provide plenty of varied opportunities, with many progression opportunities that can take your career to new heights.
The midwifery team are healthcare professionals whose roles and responsibilities centre on supporting expectant parents and families through pregnancy, labour, birth, and in the postnatal period, and are on hand to support through any circumstances. It’s a career area that can provide a reassuring certainty to new parents and families, particularly during stressful periods. Although there are multiple different roles within the midwifery team, they all work towards one common goal.
The midwifery team is a vital presence during pregnancy and the early postnatal period for parents and families. By working together and with other healthcare professionals, the midwifery team will help improve the experiences of parents and families, prepare them for this new stage of life, and support them with any issues or questions they may have.
From providing antenatal care such as parenting classes, clinical examinations and screenings, to monitoring high-risk pregnancies and teaching parents about caring and feeding their children, the midwifery team provides new families with a strong foundation which they can use to flourish. Let’s take a look at what’s involved!
Midwifery, much like areas of medicine such as obstetrics and gynaecology which concern pregnancy and birth, have traditionally been defined as “women’s health”, and the language surrounding it has often reflected this. However, it is important to acknowledge that midwives, obstetricians and gynaecologists will interact and treat patients who are non-binary, transgender, or genderfluid, who may not confirm to the traditional view of gender. It is important to treat patients with the utmost respect, and encourage inclusivity. The language used throughout this guide to midwifery will reflect this, and acknowledge that professionals are still currently discussing how the language surrounding these areas of medicine should be changed to better reflect this. For more information regarding this, click here.
Midwifery careers can provide plenty of opportunities to people who want to make a difference to others’ lives. With the ability to play a fundamental role at a key point in families lives, why not consider a career in midwifery?
It’s easy to think of the midwifery teams just comprising of midwives given that they’re one of the most recognisable roles in healthcare, but that’s not the case. There are a variety of roles that can be found within the midwifery team, and these roles work together to assist and support expectant families. Let’s take a look!
A registered profession in health and care, they provide full antenatal care so that an expectant parent is prepared for the birth of their child. This can include providing care, keeping them informed, teaching them skills, and helping expectant parents make considered choices about their options during pregnancy. They’ll also be on hand to monitor pregnancies, and identify any high-risk pregnancies that would need specialist care.
There are a few different roles that maternity support workers perform. Primarily, they’ll help to care for mothers and their babies. This can involve making routine observations such as temperature or blood pressure checks, or educating parents about different aspects of childcare, such as breastfeeding.
With one to two babies in every thousand being born with permanent hearing loss in at least one ear, new born hearing screeners help identify babies who may be experiencing hearing loss, whether permanent or temporary. This can allow the healthcare team to understand how this may impact their development, manage this situation through care plans, and provide support to parents and children who may require it.
They provide information and advice to parents regarding their own and their baby’s health condition, check for safeguarding concerns, and help monitor the baby’s progress and development.
This can include doctors who specialise in children (paediatricians) or in pregnancy, labour, and antenatal health (obstetricians), neonatal nurses who are specifically trained to care for ill or premature babies, or sonographers who will carry out ultrasound scans at various points during pregnancy.
This is what newly qualified midwives can expect to start their careers earning, and with experience, specialisms, and leadership roles, this can increase to over £65,000. Maternity support workers and health visitors may earn different salaries - maternity support workers will typically start at around £18,000 with health visitors earning £32,000. Like midwifery opportunities, both of these careers have progression opportunities, and the salary would increase to reflect this.
This is what a typical working week looks like - the midwifery team will work with flexibility over a seven day period. Some patients need 24/7 assistance, and different working hours may be encountered in order to support their needs, especially if the position interacts with families and parents in different clinical settings.
The NHS, private healthcare providers, and the Nursing & Midwifery Council are passionate about supporting individuals who want to make a difference in midwifery. There are plenty of training opportunities and support to help take you far on your career journey.
Healthcare providers will help provide a healthy work/life balance, including part-time opportunities, flexibility, and childcare support. When you care for others, it’s important that the healthcare provider places value in you, meaning that you’re able to focus on providing the best quality care.
The midwifery team has a great deal of responsibility to manage in daily life, in order to ensure that expectant families are cared and provided the best possible circumstances. Although the team has different roles, there are a core set of responsibilities that define their working life. Let’s take a look.
Some expectant families will never have been in this situation before - for others, it’s familiar territory. Regardless of either situation, the midwifery team will be on hand to provide care before the birth. This will include education as well as clinical observation, so that expectant families are given the best possible chances.
Every pregnancy can be different - people may experience different reactions and responses, and so it’s important that midwives examine, monitor and assess pregnancies which allows them to assess care requirements and create specific care plans.
The midwifery team are experts in normal, straightforward births - but, this doesn’t mean they don’t know how to handle higher-risk pregnancies. In fact, the team are trained to identify these instances as early as possible, so that specialists care can be provided quickly and effectively.
Bringing new life into the world can be so daunting, and some expectant parents may be worried about where to even begin with caring for their baby. Midwifery teams will often help provide unbiased advice and education from everything on how to feed, clean, and change their baby, to how to spot any important developments.
The midwifery team is there for families at every stage - pregnancy, labour, and birth. Midwives are on hand to support and assist during labours, helping make the delivery process as straightforward as possible.
Monitoring isn’t just about keeping an eye on any at-risk pregnancies. Instead, it’s about understanding what’s going on, making sure that they have what they need, and being able to provide care and advice depending on someone’s condition.
It’s important for the midwifery team to keep an eye on any observations they make, and keep regular and accurate records to ensure that all the relevant information on the pregnancy is stored correctly.
Pregnancy, labour, and birth have been with us since the beginning - but that doesn’t mean there isn’t more to learn with new techniques. It’s important that the midwifery team remain connected to their colleagues and peers, and continually strive to be up-to-date with any new developments.
The midwifery team will work together and with other health and care professionals as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide the best care possible for their patients. By relying on different expertise and opinion, they can play a key role in a team that looks after the complete health needs of a patient, and ensuring a continuity in the care they receive.
Sadly, not all pregnancies turn out as expected. It can be one of the hardest moments for any parents, and it’s one of the roles of the midwifery team to offer both advice and support following miscarriages, terminations, still-births, and neonatal deaths. Although it can’t fix what has happened, the midwifery team can play a key role in showing people that they’re not alone.
