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Midwife: Job description and activities

Job description

Midwives provide advice, care and support for women, their partners and families before, during and after childbirth. They help women make their own decisions about the care and services they access. They care for newborn children, providing health education and parenting support for the first 28 days, after which care transfers to a health visitor.

Midwives are personally responsible for the health of both mother and child, only referring to obstetricians if there are medical complications, but are obliged by law to have a named supervisor of midwives to ensure safe practice. They work in multidisciplinary teams in both hospital and, increasingly, community healthcare settings.

Typical work activities

A midwife has a range of responsibilities, including the care of mother and baby, adhering to hospital policy and maintaining an awareness of issues such as health and safety. Typical work activities include:

• diagnosing, monitoring and examining women during pregnancy;
• developing, assessing and evaluating individual programmes of care;
• providing full antenatal care, including screening tests in the hospital, community and the home;
• identifying high risk pregnancies and making referrals to doctors and other medical specialists;
• arranging and providing parenting and health education for the woman, her partner and family members;
• encouraging participation of family members in the birth to support the mother and enhance both mother/baby bonding and family relationships generally;
• providing counselling and advice before and after screening;
• offering support and advice following events such as miscarriage, termination, stillbirth, neonatal abnormality and neonatal death;
• supervising and assisting mothers in labour, monitoring the condition of the foetus and using knowledge of drugs and pain management;
• giving support and advice on the daily care of the baby, including breast feeding, bathing and making up feeds;
• providing advice and guidance on a safe and timely transfer home;
• liaising with agencies and other health and social care professionals to ensure continuity of care;
• engaging in professional development to meet PREP (post-registration education and practice) requirements;
• participating in the training and supervision of junior colleagues.

AGCAS

Written by Colin Taylor, University of Cumbria

Last updated:

April 2008

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