How are women and babies cared for during pregnancy and the early stages of life?
WHAT ARE THE MAIN STAFF ROLES WITHIN MATERNITY CARE TEAMS? Midwives and doctors 143. Midwives provide most of a woman’s care during pregnancy, labour and in the postnatal period. The midwifery profession may be entered directly by undertaking a specialised university course leading to a midwifery qualification. The minimum academic standard for a midwifery programme is a diploma although a number of programmes are at degree level. In order to practise, midwives must be registered with the statutory body for nursing, midwifery and health visiting, the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The Council maintains a register of midwives. To remain on the Register, midwives must update their knowledge and maintain a professional portfolio as evidence of their updating. To enable the Council to know which midwives are practising, all practising midwives are required to notify their intention to practice on an annual basis. 144. There are a number of career pathways for midwives, and so they may play
