To be sad that I'll probably never train as a midwife

[PrettyWisdomous]

Throughout pregnancy, I always said to the midwives "I could never do your job", as I have a phobia of blood and needles. However, since DS was born, I've felt so inspired by the care I received that I've been thinking a lot about whether or not it's something I can do.

I'm a very caring person and love having a job (in a completely unrelated field) where I'm making a difference and not lining some fat-cat's pocket. However, my current job isn't really a career and although it does make a difference, it's not "daily" or something that I can actually see the effects of (very often, at least). I'm a great communicator, meticulous attention to detail, interested in people and helping others - I really believe that I would be a good midwife. I'm looking into CBT to overcome my phobias, which is the only thing that would hold me back.

... Except for the old foe, money. You need a degree to become a midwife. There is no way I can give up my work to become a student. It's unlikely to ever be something that I can do, we just couldn't afford to live off DP's salary alone, especially with the additional costs to put DS in childcare whilst I was learning or on placement.

This makes me feel sad. I've put the lottery on, but I'm not hopeful.

What about doing something with Nct eg becoming an antenatal educator, breastfeeding counsellor? Or in the future look into being a Doula (although would need as hoc Childcare)

A friend of mine moved to Scotland in advance of applying for Midwifery training because funding was free. Not quite sure how that works - I think you need to demonstrate residency for a specific period but she got her course paid for.

How about social work? There's a 'step up' program, it's 15 months but you get a huge nursery (like 19k tax free).

Have you actually looked at the student finance that's available? There's money for fees (tuition fee loan) and living costs (maintenance loan) and extra money for dependents and childcare, plus very often a bursary direct from the University on top of all that

Nursing and midwifery are disproportionately studied by mature students, often with children of their own, so there are certainly ways to do it - you're not left to fund it all yourself

(the above info assumes you don't already have a degree, as arrangements are a bit different if you do)

Could you do an OU degree whilst working, perhaps?

I strongly recommend applying for HCA jobs in the interim to see how you really find working in a hospital! If it really is what you want to do then you will find a way, you can save for a while and there's loans available too. Most student midwives try to work the odd shift too though is very difficult. You may be able to claim some tax credits. Where there's a will there's a way.

Thank you so much for the encouraging responses. Avocados, I hadn't thought about the student finance that's available - a quick look at it suggests that I'd qualify for quite a lot of support, so that would make a massive difference!

I don't have any formal qualifications (other than 1 A-Level, which I studied for myself whilst working FT, which I guess shows determination, at least?) or "relevant"work experience. I don't expect my chances of being accepted onto a course to be very high.

MissDuke (are you my a best friend?), I've been looking at HCA jobs locally but there's not been any vacancy recently.

Are you on the fb group secret community for midwives in the making? You will find it really helpful

I don't have any formal qualifications (other than 1 A-Level, which I studied for myself whilst working FT, which I guess shows determination, at least?) or "relevant"work experience. I don't expect my chances of being accepted onto a course to be very high.

In that case you would need to do an Access to HE course which is a one year course done at a local college which is designed for people just like you - older, away from education for a number of years and wanting to go to university. The qualification is almost universally accepted by universities, but of course grade requirements vary - and you'll need to check the websites of the universities you want to apply to - you can apply to five.

No I've never heard of it! Do I need an invite?

Have a look whether you can do a degree apprenticeship. I don't know whether there is one for midwifery, but if there is, it's a way of getting a degree whilst earning money.

You need to really research this. Midwifery is hard work and after 3/4 years of studying you’re not guaranteed a job, especially in your area - would you be prepared to move the family?

As already said look into apprenticeships the one for nursing is over 4 years you get I think about £3.40 an hour 1st year and then minimum wage for next 3 all fees paid. I'm sure there is similar for midwifery. To be honest though they will be hard to come by and you would be best placed to stand a chance if you already do care work within the trust that will provide the apprenticeship.

Have you looked on your local NHS websites for hca jobs.

I'm starting the degree in September. You'll probably need to do an access course to enable you to have recent study and sufficient qualifications to apply and you will need GCSE maths and English at C or above. However financially it's not as dire as you may think. Seriously, search 'Secret Community for Midwives in the making' in facebook. There's a wealth of experience and knowledge on there. It's not easy getting here (its taken me 4 years!), but if you want it enough there are ways to do it.

Degree apprenticeships are very much in their infancy for nursing (better established for other subject areas like IT and business, though that's not relevant here) but as far as I can tell they're not yet available for midwifery.

You can, however, become something called a maternity support worker via an apprenticeship route - I can't say I'm overly familiar with it as a career path (I work in HE but it's not something I've ever had to advise on specifically) but it sounds like it might be a bit less gory than midwifery? www.rcm.org.uk/learning-and-career/apprenticeships

Personally, I would be very worried if any of my daughters wanted to be a midwife, 40 years ago I found it very stressful and in today's climate it is a whole lot worse. The country is understaffed which means the level of care you can give is seriously reduced. It is increasingly dangerous. The care my daughters had in childbirth was very substandard. I have 10 grandchildren so not an isolated case. Please find something else. I fear you have rosy glasses on. Delivering babies when things go wrong is terrifying

You'd get a bursary for Midwifery courses.

No bursary anymore claire.

I understood bursaries were withdrawn in 2017 for all nursing and midwifery courses and additionally degree fees of £9k pa were now payable.

Avocados that apprenticeship sounds really interesting, thank you. I'll have a look.

Zaalitje, that's seems so silly when the profession is understaffed.

It's so frustrating, I really want to do something to better myself and my career, but it seems so unlikely to happen.

How old are you op if you don't mind me asking? As others have said you would need to do an access course in order to gain the minimum educational requirements and show evidence of recent study so you would need to plan to be studying for at least 4 years.

There is no longer a bursary but you would be able to apply for student loans and would get tax credits and child benefit if you're entitled.

Midwifery courses are extremely over subscribed, my uni had over 1000 applicants for 48 places. It's important you can show a really good knowledge of the role, in addition to having been pregnant yourself. Volunteering in relevant settings is always helpful on your application.

Good luck.

Hi, Monr0e. I'm late 20s. I've had a look at my local NHS Trust website but there are no relevant vacancies at the moment and their volunteering programme is full, so they're not accepting new volunteers either. Bummer, but I will keep an eye on it.

I am definitely willing to put in the study time! I'm massively keen on learning, I've just not known what to apply myself to. Now I feel really motivated to do this, I want to make it happen!

BBQ's suggestion about becoming a doula would give me extremely relevant experience though...

Late 20's is nothing, you have more than loads of time I was 41 when I started.

Volunteering doesn't have to be at the hospital. Look at breastfeeding peer support groups, ask about spending time with health visitors, see if there is a local homestart group you can volunteer with.

Also, do you have many options for unis you can attend in your location? Look at each one individually as they may have different entrance criteria so make sure you will have everything you need. Also bear in mind if accepted you will working the same shifts as your mentors so nights, long days, 7am starts. You need very robust childcare!