Midwifery

Midwifery is a profession dedicated to supporting women and families through pregnancy, labour, birth, and the early postnatal period, providing skilled, compassionate care at one of the most significant transitions in human life. Midwives work with physiological processes and also with the full complexity of individual circumstances, social factors, and medical needs that shape each woman's experience. The profession requires clinical skill, emotional intelligence, advocacy, and the judgement to act effectively in fast-changing situations.

At the University of Chester, this four-year programme includes an integrated foundation year, providing a supported entry route into what is a demanding and vocationally specific degree. The foundation year prepares you with the scientific, academic, and professional foundations before you progress to the main programme. Throughout the degree, you will study the physiology of pregnancy and birth, neonatal care, pharmacology, public health, and the legal and ethical frameworks governing midwifery practice, and you will gain supervised clinical experience in midwifery settings that build your practical skills alongside your theoretical understanding.

On graduating, you will be eligible to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Registered midwives work in NHS trusts, birth centres, community settings, and private maternity care across the UK and internationally. The NHS consistently recruits midwifery graduates and there are opportunities to specialise in areas such as high-risk obstetrics, fetal medicine, bereavement care, and infant feeding support. Experienced midwives can progress into education, research, management, consultant midwife roles, or advanced clinical practice.

Midwifery also provides a foundation for further study in public health, women's health, or related clinical disciplines.