Is midwifery for you?

As a midwife, you will be responsible for the care of women, babies and their families prior to pregnancy, during pregnancy, labour, birth and the early infancy period. Read more ...

What you will study

We guide and support our midwifery students to learn in a safe and welcoming environment. Our academics have strong backgrounds in midwifery practice. Read more ...

Hands-on

Throughout your degree, you will gain significant practical experience. You will have clinical placement in a hospital maternity unit and some community settings as well as 600 hours of relationship-based continuity of care experiences, involving following the woman during her antenatal, labour, birth and post natal experiences. Read more ...

Careers

As a midwife, you may work in birth centres, maternity units of hospitals, community settings and private practice (which may include home births). Read more ...

Is midwifery for you?

Our Bachelor of Midwifery degree is based on contemporary midwifery theory, preparing students for new models of maternity care with a unique emphasis on primary health care including health promotion, indigenous health and mental health issues. Midwives work in birth centres, maternity units of hospitals, in community settings, rural and remote areas, and private practice which may include home births. Graduates from the Bachelor of Midwifery can work in Australia, New Zealand and there are opportunities to work overseas. With further study midwives can also become midwifery educators, managers or researchers.

What you will study

We guide and support our midwifery students to learn in a safe and welcoming environment. Our academics have strong backgrounds in midwifery practice.

The Bachelor of Midwifery has been jointly developed with the Hunter Local Health District and is being provided in partnership with selected hospitals in the Hunter, Central Coast, and Mid North Coast Health Districts. This partnership network ensures that our midwifery students are guided and supported by clinicians who are part of the workforce.

The degree is based on contemporary midwifery theory, prepares students for new models of maternity care and has a unique emphasis on primary health care including health promotion, indigenous health and mental health issues.  Graduates are eligible to apply for registration to practise as a midwife with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.’

Hands-on

Throughout your degree, you will gain significant practical experience. You will have clinical placement in a hospital maternity unit and some community settings as well as 600 hours of relationship-based continuity of care experiences, involving following the woman during her antenatal, labour, birth and post natal experiences.

Placements: Clinical placements for Callaghan students will be at John Hunter, Newcastle Private, Maitland, Singleton, Muswellbrook, Gosford Public and Gosford Private. For the Port Macquarie students placements will be at Port Macquarie, Kempsey and Taree. There will be approximately 600 hours of clinical placement during the degree. You will be supervised to conduct a minimum of 30 antenatal assessments, 30 births, 30 postnatal assessments and 15 assists with breastfeeding.

Continuity of care relationships with childbearing women: Students will participate in 10 relationship-based; continuity of care experiences with childbearing women each year (total of 30). You must be on call for the continuity of care experience births. Each continuity of care relationship is estimated to require about 20 hours of your time.

Careers

As a midwife, you may work in birth centres, maternity units of hospitals, community settings and private practice (which may include home births). There is currently a shortage of graduate midwives, particularly in regional and rural Australia. Bachelor of Midwifery graduates can work in Australia or New Zealand. There are also opportunities to work overseas. With further study midwives can also become midwifery educators, managers or researchers.

Graduates will be eligible to apply for registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia is the statutory body responsible for establishing registration standards for the midwifery profession.

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