Being a midwife is more than just delivering babies. A midwife is usually the first and main contact for the woman during her pregnancy, throughout labour and the early postnatal period. She is responsible for providing care to the woman and baby and supporting women to make informed choices about their care.

The role of the midwife is very diverse. She carries out clinical examinations, provides health and parent education and supports the woman and family throughout the childbearing process helping them adjust to their parental role. The midwife also works in partnership with other health and social care services to meet individual women’s needs, for example, teenage mothers, mothers who are socially excluded and disabled mothers.

Midwives are responsible for their own individual practice and have a statutory responsibility to keep up to date with current knowledge.

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Case study

Are you working in the role of midwife? Please contact us about doing a case study on your career path for this page:  education@rcm.org.uk