How to Become a Midwife

Courses and training to become a midwife

Training to be a midwife

Introduction
In order to work in the NHS in the UK, every midwife must possess a midwifery degree.  If you are a qualified nurse, you must complete a pre-registration programme in midwifery.  This midwifery programme progresses to registration with Nursing and Midwifery Council and will allow you to work as a midwife.

Pre-registration programmes

1. Pre-registration midwife degree

• Once you have completed the Pre-registration midwife degree, you will be awarded the professional and academic qualification. This will be achieved through studying both practical and theory midwifery.
• The  supervised midwifery practice represents around half of the programme and will be undertaken in hospital and community settings such as labour wards and antenatal clinics
• The midwife degree usually last for  three years although some may take for four years to complete.

2. Pre-registration midwifery short programme

• The midwifery short programme is aimed at  qualified and registered nurses who want to train as midwives.
• Once you have completed the Pre-registration midwife degree, you will be awarded the professional and academic qualification. This will be achieved through studying both practical and theory midwifery.
• The supervised midwifery practice will be undertaken in community and hospital settings.
• The midwifery short  programmes is at least 78 weeks full-time

Part-time Midwife courses

There are a number of Part-time midwifery courses available and are usually provided by universities that offer full-time midwifery courses. These midwife courses usually last for approximately five years.

After the pre-registration Midwife programme

After you have completed your pre-registration programme and you have registered with the Nursing Midwifery Council, you can apply for a midwife job. After you have gained experience, you can look to advance your career even further.