It has a unique body of knowledge, skills and professional attitudes drawn from disciplines shared by other health professions such as science and sociology, but practised by midwives within a professional framework of autonomy, partnership, ethics and accountability.
Founded in evidence-based practice, the care midwives provide to women, babies and families is of the utmost importance to society. Midwives are key professionals in ensuring that women have a safe and emotionally satisfying experience during their pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood. Midwives are the lead professional for all healthy women with straightforward pregnancies. For women with complex pregnancies midwives work as the key coordinator of care within the multidisciplinary team, liaising closely with obstetricians, and paediatricians.
The main aim of the 4-year full-time B.Sc. (Hons) programme is to prepare students to achieve the competencies needed to be able to fulfil the requirements of a midwife as laid down in the definition of the midwife, International Confederation of Midwives (ICM 2017) and comply with European Union, Midwives Directive 80/154/EEC Article 4, Directive 2005/36/EC Article 42, amended by Directive 2013/55/EU, and with the Health Care Professions Act [cap.464, p4, art IV, 23(5)].
To name a few, these competencies include; to provide sound family planning information and advice, diagnose pregnancies and monitor normal pregnancies to carry out examinations necessary for the monitoring of the development of normal pregnancies, prescribe or advise on the examinations necessary for the earliest possible diagnosis of pregnancies at rick, and to care for the new-born infant while taking the necessary initiatives where immediate resuscitation is needed.
During the B.Sc. (Hons) programme there is the opportunity to participate in the Erasmus+ mobility programme.
Following successful completion of the programme and as continuation of the B.Sc. (Hons) midwives may proceed to the M.Sc. Midwifery, a full-time post-registration programme spanning over three semesters or the M.Sc. Midwifery (by research) that is a part-time post registration programme, and eventually up to Ph.D. level.
