Midwifery Practice BSc (Hons)

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Support women/persons throughout their journey from conception to birth and beyond. Gain in-depth skills and knowledge of pregnancy, labour, birth and early parenthood. Graduate with the qualifications needed to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a Registered Midwife.

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Overview

Midwifery is a rewarding, dynamic and highly-skilled profession. The role of the midwife is central in ensuring that women/persons have a safe and life-enhancing experience throughout pregnancy, labour and the first few weeks after birth. As a midwife, you'll also be responsible for making sure newborn infants and families have the best possible start in life.

You’ll follow a woman/persons-centred approach to midwifery care by applying a biopsychosocial model to enrich your practice as a midwife, tackling health inequalities and providing evidence-based practice. This course has a focus on mental health within maternity and the role of the midwife in supporting women/persons and families with mental health issues. Clinical placements will make up 50% of your time on this course.

On successful completion of the course, you'll be eligible to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a Registered Midwife. You will have 5 years from starting the course to complete and register with the NMC.

This course is full for 2023/24 entry.

Why us?

The course has an embedded focus on mental health throughout every module
Breastfeeding manikins will be used to promote an understanding of lactation and procedures, which is in line with UNICEF’s baby friendly initiative
On successful completion you'll be eligible to apply to be entered onto the NMC Register as a Midwife

We have a unique relationship with our Patient, Carer and Public Involvement Group who take part in a variety of activities to support learning
The Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing has fantastic facilities to support interactive simulation and the development of tomorrow's midwives

Course structure

You'll learn through a variety of methods including lectures, seminars, group work, clinical skills simulation, online/e-learning and tutorials. 50% of your time over the duration of the course will be in a clinical environment allowing you to directly apply theory to practice. You'll experience a wide variety of clinical settings across the continuum of midwifery services at any one of our partner NHS Trusts and mental health trusts (placements are limited so you will be expected to travel to ensure you gain experience in a wide range of areas).

Assessment methods include written essays, examinations, OSCEs, presentations, VIVAs, clinical placements and the completion of your Midwifery Ongoing Record of Achievement (MORA).

Year 1 (national level 4):

Introduction to Midwifery and Professional Practice (20 credits)

Gain insight into the role of the midwife, from professionalism to competency. Study the legal, ethical and professional frameworks which underpin practice. Develop the knowledge and communication skills required to work with women/persons, families and interdisciplinary teams in practice environments.

Applied Science for Maternity Care (20 credits)

Explore a range of science disciplines such as anatomy, physiology, genetics and pharmacology, and learn how these are applied across the reproductive health continuum. Examine psychological and cognitive changes and the sociobiological impacts for the parents in the perinatal period.

Public Health and Transformation of Maternity Care (20 credits)

Learn about a variety of maternity settings including community, hospital and home care. Study equality, disability, and mental health to gain an in-depth understanding of the compassion, respect and empathy required to provide dignified care for women/persons and their families.

Midwifery and Professional Practice 1 (60 credits)

Learn the foundation skills required for your first-year placement. Gain experience of universal midwifery care within a variety of settings from antenatal to postnatal care. Develop your understanding of mental health and mental ill health, including the effects this can have upon women/persons, fetuses, newborn infants and their families.

Some modules have prerequisites. Read more about what this means in our Help and Advice article.

Year 2 (national level 5):

Additional midwifery care for woman and newborn infants. (20 credits)

Examine the additional care needs that may arise both as a result of the childbearing process and pre-existing medical conditions from a physical, mental and social aspect. Explore risk and methods of risk assessment in relation to clinical decision-making, problem-solving and appropriate referral. Consider the importance of providing continuity of care/carer and providing evidence-based information to help women/persons make informed choices about their own, and their baby’s care.

Promoting Excellence through Evidence Based Midwifery Practice (20 credits)

Explore sources of knowledge, information and evidence which inform midwifery practice. Gain the skills, knowledge and critical understanding of the relationship between evidence-based practice and women/persons and their family’s physical, mental health and well-being. Use reflective practice to demonstrate continuous improvement and development of yourself, the team and service delivery.

Population and Public Health Context for Midwifery Practice (20 credits)

Develop an understanding of a midwife’s public health contribution to maximising wellbeing and improving mental health in women/persons, babies and families. Examine the factors that influence physical and mental health and ill health within the wider social and political context. Reflect upon diversity and differences within the patient population, and how this affects an individual’s worldview and experience of healthcare.

Midwifery Practice and Pharmacology 2 (60 credits)

Extend your understanding of the evidence that optimises normal physiological processes for all women/persons and newborn infants, in order to promote positive outcomes and prevent complications. Support women/persons and their families to make informed choices surrounding their care; taking greater responsibility for yourself and your role within the interdisciplinary and multiagency teams.

Final year (national level 6):

The Midwife as a Skilled Practitioner (20 credits)

Enhance communication and relationship building skills with women/persons, families and colleagues. Learn how to become a positive role model and support families through decision making and care provision.

Midwifery Dissertation (40 credits)

Explore maternity care within the context of contemporary health and social care policy. Engage in academic dialogue on a chosen aspect of safe and effective midwifery care for women/persons and their families.

Midwifery Practice and Pharmacology 3 (60 credits)

Develop and consolidate your knowledge and skills by leading the care for a small caseload of women/persons. Ensure all care women/persons, newborn infant and their families has a woman/person centered approach and prioritises the ethos of compassion, professionalism and safe care provision.

Facilities

The University of Sunderland offers modern and well-equipped facilities at our Sciences Complex.

Entry requirements

We don’t currently display entry requirements for United States. Please contact the Student Admin team on studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk or 0191 515 3154.

Enhanced Project Qualification in a relevant subject will also be considered.

If you already have a degree (minimum 2.2 at full honours) or your qualification is not listed above, you will be classed as a mature student.

Your completed application form will be reviewed by our Admissions Team to ensure that you have the required entry qualifications. If you meet these requirements, then your application will be individually assessed and if successful you will be shortlisted for interview.

The selection process will include a group activity and four mini-interviews which will assess you on your values, problem solving and communication skills.

Fitness to practise
Medical assessments of your mental and physical health and disclosure of criminal convictions apply to all health courses and are based on current NMC requirements. Midwives are registered health care professionals and the ability to practise safely, effectively and professionally is essential, so all applicants are required to follow our fitness to practise procedures. This means you are required to complete the following:

A health declaration form. Here you must demonstrate that you are of good health, good character and can satisfactorily pass occupational health screening. In addition, you will be required to attend an Occupational Health Assessment with an NHS Trust. The University will, taking into account current NMC regulations, make any reasonable adjustments if required.
A self-declaration form about your conduct.
Obtain an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. The cost of the DBS check is covered by the University.

Instructions on how you complete these checks will be sent to you once you hold a conditional firm offer with us. These forms are then reviewed alongside your application, and you must meet both the academic and fitness to practise requirements before you will be given an unconditional offer. If you are successful, you will also need to complete an annual declaration form to confirm you are fit and there are no changes to your DBS.

Students studying a health or social care course, that has a placement within the NHS or any other Care Quality Commission establishment, are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Find out more in our Help and Advice article.

Fees and finance

Fees are £9,250 per year. Please note, we are unable to accept international applicants.

A non-repayable grant of £5,000 and extra payments worth up to £3,000 is available to eligible home students for each year of study. Read more about the Training Grant on The NHS Business Services Authority website.

If you currently serve (or have recently served) within the Armed Forces, then the Ministry of Defence's ELCAS scheme may be able to help cover your funding for this course. For more information, see our Funding for Armed Forces personnel page.

Take a look at the Your Finances section to find out about the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

This information was correct at the time of publication.

Career ready

There were 39,070 midwives on the NMC register (2021), this has increased from 37,918 in 2020. The national midwife shortage continues, with the NHS in England short of the equivalent of almost 3,500 full-time midwives.

Career options

Most midwives are employed by the NHS. They work in hospitals, maternity and birthing centres and in the community. You can also find employment in private hospitals, independent practices and the armed forces. Starting salaries for newly qualified midwives are set at Band 5, which starts at £25,655.

As your knowledge and expertise increase, you could move into more senior practitioner roles such as consultant midwife, were you will have the potential earning of over £40,000 per year. Other leadership roles within the profession include becoming a supervisor of midwives whose role is to protect the public but also support midwives in their practice. This is a key role that many midwives aspire to. You could also become a team or unit manager, with responsibility for managing other staff with ongoing hands-on involvement with clients. This could then lead to further influential roles such as head of midwifery and director of midwifery services.

Specialise

You may choose to specialise in a particular area of perinatal care and study for further qualifications, which may involve carrying out research to help move the profession forward.

You could undertake further study to teach midwifery students at a university. If you stay in practice, you could consider the role of consultant midwife, providing clinical leadership for midwives and other healthcare professionals, across maternity services. You could also move into neonatal nursing or health visiting.

Placements

At all levels of the course, you will undertake unpaid clinical placements including community midwifery, antenatal and postnatal wards, delivery suite and clinics. The placements occur in blocks of varying duration.

During these placements you are required to provide care for a certain number of women/persons and babies in specific categories, which are set by European Directive requirements. These include:

Advising of pregnant women/persons, involving at least 100 antenatal examinations
Supervising and caring for at least 40 pregnant women/persons
Personally facilitating at least 40 births
Supervising and caring for 40 women/persons at risk* during pregnancy, labour or the postnatal period
Supervising and caring for (including examination) at least 100 postnatal women/persons and 100 healthy newborn infants

You will evidence this in the Midwifery Ongoing Record of Achievement (MORA).

You will undertake your placements at any of our partner trusts.

As you may be expected to travel long distances, start your shift in the early hours, or finish your shift late at night, you could be entitled to Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses (TDAE) which allows you to make a retrospective claim for excess travel costs and/or expenses for temporary accommodation near to the location of your placement. Find out more about the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Meet the students

With the support on hand at Sunderland, I know I will achieve my dream career.

Emily Currah
I am enjoying every aspect of my learning journey

Laura Paxton

Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing FAQs

Do I need work experience?
Given the current Covid-19 pandemic we appreciate that it is not possible to obtain work experience in the health or caring environment. As an alternative we would recommend that you investigate midwifery through online resources, professional body websites and healthcare organisations so you can demonstrate a clear understanding of the role.

What should I include in my personal statement?
Your personal statement provides a unique opportunity to express your personal qualities and attributes related to a rewarding career in midwifery. The statement should include a clear articulation of:

Rationale for your choice of career
Evidence of investigation of midwifery as a career that demonstrates insight of the role
Personal qualities and transferable skills that may contribute to success in the course and profession

For more advice on your personal statement please read our article on how to write a personal statement when you have no work experience.

What does a midwifery interview involve?
Our interviews are currently taking place face-to-face. They will consist of an individual interview and group activity. For advice on how to prepare please read our article on how to prepare for online interviews for healthcare degrees.

How many weeks holiday is there each year?
You will have seven weeks of holiday a year, with two weeks at Christmas. The remaining five weeks is spread across the rest of the academic year. The timings of the holidays will vary over the three years and we do try where possible to align some of these to the school holidays. You are unable to take holiday outside of these set times, but you will be provided with a three year plan on enrolment.

How far will I have to travel for my placements?
You will undertake your placements at any of our partner NHS Trusts. Placements are limited so you will be expected to travel to ensure you gain experience in a wide range of areas. This will allow you to enhance your clinical experience and develop into a midwife with the knowledge and skills needed to be a safe and effective practitioner.

How long are the placement shifts?
Your standard working week will be around 37.5 hours on a shift pattern which can include nights, early starts, evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Shifts can be between 7- 12 hours and the shift pattern can vary between Trusts. Your shifts will be confirmed four weeks prior to starting your placement. It is not possible to fit placements around school hours and holidays.

Related courses

Contact

Contact the Student Helpline for further information about studying at the University of Sunderland:

0191 515 3000

student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk

View Programme Specifications for the Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing.

Page last updated: 10 February 2023

We aim to provide clear, accurate and timely information to prospective and current students. We continuously review and enhance course content in consultation with our students and the information provided on our website is the latest available. If you have received an offer from us to start a course, we will communicate any important changes to you in writing. We will always seek to ensure that our prospective students are fully aware of the basis on which they are accepting an offer.

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