How to become a midwife

Most midwives qualify through a full-time midwifery degree approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Registered adult nurses can take a shortened course instead. In NHS England, newly qualified midwives usually start on band 5 (£32,073 to £39,043 from 1 April 2026) and move to band 6 (£39,959 to £48,117) after a period of supported practice. How long that takes depends on the trust.

The direct-entry degree

Most people apply through UCAS for a midwifery degree. Your time is split roughly between university teaching and placements in labour wards, antenatal clinics, postnatal wards, community teams and birth centres. By the end you will have cared for women through pregnancy, birth and the weeks afterwards, and delivered babies under supervision.

Universities set their own entry requirements. Most want GCSEs in English, maths and a science, plus A levels (often including a science or social science), another level 3 qualification, or an Access to HE diploma with a health or science focus. Interviews are competitive and values-based. Expect to be asked why midwifery, what you know about the role, and how you would handle a distressed or frightened family.

Some trusts also run midwifery degree apprenticeships. You are employed, usually as a maternity support worker, and study for the degree alongside. They are advertised as jobs, and there are far fewer of them than university places.

The shortened course for nurses

A registered adult nurse can apply for a shortened midwifery programme. It runs shorter than the full degree because your nursing training already covers much of the general clinical ground. Entry usually asks for current NMC registration and some recent post-registration experience. Funding differs from undergraduate funding, so check with the university and, if you work in the NHS, with your employer, since some trusts sponsor staff.

At the end you are registered as both a nurse and a midwife. To practise in both, you keep each registration up to date separately through NMC revalidation.

Shifts and the reality of the work

Babies arrive at any hour, so midwifery is shift work. Hospital midwives work a 24-hour rota of long days and nights, including weekends and bank holidays, and many trusts use 12-hour shifts. Community midwives work more daytime hours but also cover on-call for home births, which can mean an overnight callout. The NHS shift patterns guide explains how rotas are usually built.

The job is physically and emotionally heavy. Labour ward shifts can be relentless when staffing is short, and midwives deal with emergencies, baby loss and safeguarding concerns as well as straightforward births. Most trusts run professional midwifery advocate schemes for restorative supervision, and NHS staff can use their employer’s wellbeing and employee assistance services.

What midwives earn

Pay in NHS England follows Agenda for Change. The 2026/27 award was 3.3% from 1 April 2026.

Band	Typical role	Pay range (England)
5	Newly qualified midwife	£32,073 to £39,043
6	Midwife	£39,959 to £48,117
7	Senior or specialist midwife, team leader	£49,387 to £56,515
8a	Matron, consultant midwife (some posts are higher)	£57,528 to £64,750

Night, weekend and bank holiday hours carry unsocial hours enhancements on top of basic pay; see NHS unsocial hours enhancements. London trusts add a high cost area supplement. In Scotland, band 6 runs from £43,169 to £52,603.

Take a midwife on band 6 entry pay of £39,959. They would pay 9.8% into the NHS Pension Scheme, because that tier covers £35,156 to £52,778. For a figure after tax, National Insurance and pension, use the take-home pay calculator.

Checks before you start

Midwifery students and newly qualified midwives work with babies and families, so the post needs an enhanced DBS check with barred list checks. In England and Wales it costs £41.00 from 5 October 2026, and universities or trusts usually arrange it. Scotland uses the PVG scheme and Northern Ireland uses AccessNI. An occupational health assessment, including your immunisation history, comes before placements or employment begin.

A midwife trained outside the UK must join the NMC register before practising here, and may need a visa. Healthcare jobs on national pay scales need a salary of at least £25,000 or the pay scale rate if higher for the Skilled Worker route.

Leave and family-friendly terms

Full-time NHS staff start on 27 days’ annual leave plus eight public holidays. That rises to 29 days after five years and 33 days after ten years of NHS service. On 12-hour shifts, leave is usually converted into hours so it works out fairly. Many midwives work part-time, and since 6 April 2024 you can make a flexible working request from day one.

Getting your first midwife job

Placement trusts often recruit students in their final year. Otherwise, search NHS Jobs in England and Wales, the NHS Scotland jobs site or HSC jobs in Northern Ireland for “midwife” and “band 5 midwife”. Newly qualified posts normally come with a preceptorship programme in the first year. Open posts are collected under nursing and midwifery jobs, and the nursing interview questions guide covers the format most maternity panels use.