AIBU to put a strain on my family to do a midwifery degree?

[Habbyhadno]

I have wanted to train as a midwife for years, and now my children are all at school/nursery I want to start an access course this Sept with a view to staring a Midwifery course at uni next Sept.
I think it's something that I'm going to have to really bust a gut to do, financially and childcare-wise with my DH having to pick up quite a bit of the slack, I'm not sure we'll get much means tested support as DH has a decent (not huge, but ok to live on one wage) salary. However, I've been a SAHM for four years now and want to do something for myself and get back into the workplace, hopefully in a rewarding career that I've always been interested in.

Has anyone else done this? Am I being selfish to delay earning a wage for the next four years and get into debt and cause a load of stress about childcare to re-start my career from the ground up?

Viewpoints and experience welcome...

@babyboysname well done for undertaking it with kids. It really does make it much harder, doesn't it? I had thought about requesting weekend shifts on placement but I didn't know if you could do that, as you've said, it would really help with childcare. I think bursary-wise I'd get the £5k, then possibly £3k for having children. I'll get means tested for the childcare support but I'll be shocked if we get anything as we have to pay all our child benefit back every year, so I'm guessing they might use similar calculations

Ohhh well there's that dream gone. I just rang the uni I want to apply to and they said that on top of the access course I would need GCSE maths, science and English at grace C or above and I got two B's for English, two D's for science and an E for maths. I'm so disappointed.
My GCSEs have really come back to bite me in the bum, silly 15 year old me!

Couldn't you ring the college, some of the GCSE's run alongside access. Don't give up.

Would you consider peads nursing maybe then you could always do midwifery further down the line

@Habbyhadno

Ohhh well there's that dream gone. I just rang the uni I want to apply to and they said that on top of the access course I would need GCSE maths, science and English at grace C or above and I got two B's for English, two D's for science and an E for maths. I'm so disappointed. My GCSEs have really come back to bite me in the bum, silly 15 year old me!

Lots of people didn't get the grades they needed for GCSEs. Check with the institution you are planning to go to to see if they accept level 2 functional skills instead for Maths (GCSE equivalent). For science, they might accept your Access course in lieu of GCSE science.

Which Uni do you have in mind?

I was looking at Anglia Ruskin, they said that alongside the Access Course I have to have GCSE Maths, Science and English C and above and they don't accept level 2 maths and science, which I think is what would run alongside the access course. I also have Beds and Herts Uni nearby, but I'd set my heart on ARU because of the placement hospital.
I'm going to call the college and see what they say, they have a careers advisor who might be able to help.
It's a bit frustrating as I have three A levels and a degree, but they don't seem to count towards the UCAS points needed. Which I do understand as they are arts based and not science, and midwifery is a science degree.

Also, thanks for being so lovely everyone. It's really helpful to read your comments.

@Habbyhadno

I was looking at Anglia Ruskin, they said that alongside the Access Course I have to have GCSE Maths, Science and English C and above and they don't accept level 2 maths and science, which I think is what would run alongside the access course. I also have Beds and Herts Uni nearby, but I'd set my heart on ARU because of the placement hospital. I'm going to call the college and see what they say, they have a careers advisor who might be able to help. It's a bit frustrating as I have three A levels and a degree, but they don't seem to count towards the UCAS points needed. Which I do understand as they are arts based and not science, and midwifery is a science degree.

Ah, my neck of the woods 😁.

Hertfordshire will accept your Access course in lieu of GCSE maths and English: www.herts.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/midwifery

Also, because you already have a degree, you could look into an accelerated course for graduates.

I am starting an MSc in September to qualify as an allied healthcare professional as I already have a first degree. Plus the rules have now changed so that you can still get student loans even with a first degree in something else.

I just called Herts and they said they'd accept the access, which is fab. I'm not sure if I would qualify for the accelerated course as my degree is in Journalism, so not related to midwifery in the slightest. Although I know I won't have a problem with writing the assignments I wonder why Anglia Ruskin won't accept the Access Course alone, bit annoying!

Yay 😊. Some places are picky! Their loss 😉

Absolutely go for it. I pissed about for years trying to decide about doing a degree.

Fast forward and I finished the degree 8 years ago. The time goes so fast.

First year student midwife here. I have 4 DC 3 in primary and 1 who's not yet at nursery. I also go to a university 65 miles away so added pressure. NGL it's hard OP and without the support of my fantastic DH, family and friends I wouldn't be able to do it.

It's the best thing I've ever done and I would say go for it OP. It's hard but it's so so worth it. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

@RestUp that's exactly what I've done here. I don't want to drag it on any longer as that means I'll delay actually working for money

@Doublechins go you, that's amazing. I'll definitely send you a message as you're in a similar boat to me.

Definitely get some experience in maternity first. As previous poster said, it’s not a nice place anymore. It’s not just delivering babies.
I got out of there end of last year. Feels a massive weight off my shoulders.

Midwifery is a really competitive course to get on to and a lot of health courses are currently seeing a huge increase in applications since covid . I think you really would need some experience to stand a chance especially if you don't have the GCSEs that a lot of unis want. It doesn't always have to be maternity linked as that can be very hard to get experience in but think about transferable skills- care home, home start, peer support work etc maternity jobs are also very popular but there are other roles in the nhs such as healthcare assistant which would give you really good experience or look to see if the vaccinations programme locally to you is recruiting for paid or voluntary positions. Good luck im looking to apply for nursing next year after six years as a healthcare support worker and my kids are more independent - it's very exciting !

I'm a school governor and communications and SEND lead, do you think that would be a transferable skill?

I looked at work experience in a hospital setting but because of COVID they're on hold at the moment.

Sorry if I’ve missed it but see if your provider will accept an equivalency test. The exams are sat every month. I’m doing my scientific next month to go on and do the PGCE

The NHS is doing a grant that is non-means tested of £5000 a year when you are in uni, you often get an extra childcare allowance too. I found my uni really helped me and gave me discounted childcare etc. Again, all not means tested. Do it, follow your dreams, the 3 years fly by and I feel it will set a really good example to your kids, however, look into starting some voluntary work now that is relevant. Uni's really look for this when offering places. A lot of people leave this really late

I am unsure of how your finance would work out, but everyone gets something as a baseline and then only extra if you have children, live alone, disabled, low income etc. Check out the government website. Good luck OP

How very exciting, OP! Best of luck with it and good on you!

Honestly I’d wait a few years in your shoes. I’m older than you with older kids and am half way through my Nursing. The guilt is already pretty high when I’m working fulltime on placements and I can’t imagine how much worse that would be with younger children.
I am also very well supported by my husband working from home and I think it would be nigh on impossible to manage without that in terms of childcare.
Perhaps look at preparing yourself with some relevant short courses etc and some volunteering and plan to go ahead in a few years time when your youngest is at school? You only get one shot at their childhoods.

our access course will let you do 1 GCSE alongside it but no more.

Sign up for GCSE biology and maths this year. See how you feel about studying and then re-evaluate next year