Newly Qualified Midwives Face Job Shortages in NHS Despite Staffing Needs

Some graduates have reported working as receptionists or administrators. The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) surveyed newly qualified members earlier this year and found that 31% had not secured jobs.

Students and graduates have organized protests under the campaign Fund Future Midwives UK, with demonstrations in Norwich, Manchester, and Birmingham. In Norwich, protesters including new mothers, student midwives, graduates, and experienced midwives gathered to support newly qualified staff.

Students from Suffolk, Norfolk, and Essex attended the Norwich protest. A webinar on March 17 facilitated by NHS England Workforce, Training and Education indicated about 55 midwifery vacancies in the East of England for around 300 students qualifying this year.

Graduates are calling for guaranteed employment and note that training requires 2,300 hours of unpaid clinical practice, including on-call shifts, plus tuition fees and travel expenses. Students receive a £5,000 annual training bursary that does not need repayment.

Hollie Thornhill, 25, from Norwich, qualified as a midwife in 2025 and is working as a receptionist at a spa. She has applied for seven midwifery jobs in 12 months and reported responses citing lack of funding. Emily, 30, from Mid Norfolk, is a third-year student midwife and former air traffic controller.

She sold her house and received family support for childcare to pursue training, expecting a job upon qualification. Jack Foreman, a third-year student midwife from King's Lynn in Norfolk, described the situation as disheartening and emphasized the need for safer staffing levels.

Midwives do not lose professional registration immediately if unable to find work, but after three years, they must demonstrate 450 hours of work or complete a return-to-practice course.

During the Covid pandemic, the NHS expanded midwifery training in response to pressures and shortages. The previous Conservative government increased student midwifery places. Training decisions from late 2022 are now resulting in more graduates, but NHS trusts face financial strains leading to recruitment freezes.

Fiona Gibb, director of midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives, stated that trusts are making difficult financial decisions affecting employment. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has linked staffing pressures in maternity units to safety concerns, with nearly half of inspected services requiring improvement or rated inadequate.

Birth rates in England fell from 723,000 in 2010 to 594,677 in 2024. Staffing needs are influenced by increasing complexity in cases, such as diabetes, obesity, or mental health conditions. Baroness Amos is leading a review of NHS maternity services, with interim findings noting workforce shortages.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson stated that no one dedicating to a midwifery career should be left without opportunities, given the need for their skills. The department reported a record number of midwives in the NHS and referenced a 10-Year Workforce Plan for training, recruitment, and retention.

It has funded around 700 additional posts with £8 million, though these are time-limited for 12 months. The Royal College of Midwives noted that the scheme may create short-term jobs without resolving underlying funding issues.

The World Health Organisation states that midwives educated to international standards, including family planning, could prevent more than 80% of maternal deaths, stillbirths, and neonatal deaths. Research links adequate midwifery staffing to safer births, earlier complication detection, and better outcomes.

Midwives provide care throughout pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum, supporting recovery, feeding, and mental health in hospital and community settings.