Midwifery Crisis: New Graduates Face Job Scarcity Despite Critical Shortages

Aimee Peach, a 43-year-old student midwife from Somerset, is on the brink of completing her three-year degree, including 2,300 hours of unpaid placement work in the NHS. Yet, she faces the grim reality of potentially not securing a job post-graduation, a scenario that contradicts the severe midwife shortages across the UK.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) highlights a disturbing trend: 80% of student midwives graduating this year lack confidence in finding employment, despite understaffed maternity services forcing some to close temporarily. Funding cuts and recruitment freezes are cited as primary barriers, leaving midwifery managers unable to hire desperately needed staff.

Peach's journey has been anything but easy, balancing academic study, unpaid shifts, and caring for her three children. The promise of a stable career and the chance to improve women's pregnancy and birth experiences motivated her through the challenges. However, the current job market offers little hope, with only four vacancies for newly qualified midwives across England, against a backdrop of a 2,500 midwife shortage.

Fiona Gibb, RCM’s director of midwifery, emphasizes the paradox: "Report after report cites understaffing as a factor in the delivery of safe care... yet, midwifery graduates face uncertainty, with too few vacancies."

Peach has taken her concerns to her MP, advocating for guaranteed NHS jobs for new midwives, increased maternity service funding, and student debt cancellation after five years of NHS service. The Department of Health and Social Care acknowledges the issue, promising a revised workforce plan to ensure the NHS can meet patient care needs.