Midwives

Midwives do not just help women giving birth. While this is a main part of your work, midwives also help women during pregnancy, childbirth and the early parenting period. Midwives work with women to give the necessary support, care and advice during pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period.

A midwife is a health professional who has successfully completed a course of study in midwifery and has acquired the necessary qualifications to be registered to practice with the relevant regulatory authority, which in Western Australia is the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.

A midwife is responsible for:

• providing care during a woman’s pregnancy by performing regular antenatal (before the birth) checks
• providing education and advice to women, their family and partners
• providing care and performing regular observations on both the mother and baby during labour
• assisting women during birth
• guiding the woman to care for her newborn baby and to encourage breastfeeding
• providing care postnatally for the mother and baby

The numerous career paths available do not limit a midwifery career to hospital-based work. Midwives can work in a variety of settings such as clinics, hospitals, birthing centres or in the home