Midwife: Career development

Midwives are able to work in a number of different healthcare settings to develop experience and knowledge, which can lead to a range of career paths. You could become a clinical specialist in an area such as home birthing, breast feeding advice, labour ward supervision or ante-natal screening. You might become a consultant midwife, dividing your time between midwifery practice, training and leading improvements in practice.

Higher management opportunities exist as a head of midwifery services or a supervisor of midwives with the local supervising authority. You could also choose to go into teaching or research within a healthcare setting or a university. There are also specialist roles in areas such as public health, parenting education, intensive care neonatal units, ultrasound and foetal medicine.

You can find opportunities for travel with job opportunities in both the EU and overseas, as well as working abroad for organisations such as Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) . In some countries, however, midwives must also hold registered nurse status in order to practise, so you should check this before applying.