Course summary

Midwives play a pivotal role in supporting the health and wellbeing of women and their families during all stages of pregnancy, childbirth and the early postnatal period. Fully accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) providing eligibility for registration as a midwife on successful completion of the course (additional costs may apply) All home students on this course can apply for a minimum payment from the government of £5,000 per year, with additional payments for students incurring childcare costs* . Study in the Alison Gingell Building which features a midwifery suite, hospital wards, operating theatre, critical care settings, community housing and other real-life healthcare environments relevant to practice. Key Course Benefits On the Midwifery BSc (Hons) course you will have an opportunity to develop an understanding of the various approaches to childbirth and the professional skills required to lead in multidisciplinary settings, placing the mother, baby and family at the centre of care. You will have the opportunity to learn in our multi-million-pound Alison Gingell Building with up-to-date equipment and extensive simulation facilities – from basic life support manikins to high tech simulation equipment which emulate patient responses. You will also have opportunities to use equipment found in the real world of practice, such as medical devices to assist with all elements of care and especially medication administration. You will explore how to provide universal care for all women and additional care for those women with more complex health needs. Midwifery students should work towards becoming autonomous practitioners upon graduation and should take a leadership role in decisions regarding care within multi-professional settings. The NMC Proficiencies for Midwives (NMC, 2019) have been incorporated throughout course to enable the opportunity for learning and clinical skill acquisition across the childbearing continuum for women and their newborn infants. The four key areas include Antenatal care, Intrapartum care, Postnatal care and Neonatal care. This course consists of 50% theoretical knowledge and teaching and 50% clinical practice. As a student midwife you will be encouraged to work on antenatal, labour and postnatal wards and may have a bespoke placement to a neonatal unit5. You will also be encouraged to work alongside midwives in the community providing maternity services in women's homes, local clinics, children's centres and GP surgeries. Placements in non-midwifery areas and the opportunity to work in midwifery triage areas, early pregnancy assessment units and day assessment units are included from year two. From the outset, you’ll have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience under the supervision of a qualified midwife, who will also be supported to manage a small caseload during the course. You will be encouraged to develop clinical midwifery skills which aim to foster empathetic communication and sensitive women-centred care skills. You will explore midwifery through innovative, research-informed teaching and practice and the ability to analyse a woman’s needs, plan an appropriate programme of care and then implement this safely, effectively and sensitively. This course is accredited by the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council. *For further information on the government payment please visit www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-learning-support-fund-lsf