BSc (Hons) Midwifery

Core units

• Academic Study Skills: You will gain the fundamental academic and research skills required for degree level study. The unit will introduce you to a broad grounding in literature searching, literature review, data collection, methodological approach, data analysis and interpretation and ethical practice. It will also support you to begin to develop a critical and analytical approach to your work and identify areas for personal development. 
• Applied Sciences: You'll gain a basic understanding of some fundamental aspects of science underpinning more specific disciplines, and an appreciation of how various scientific disciplines impact human life. You'll understand the differences between pure and applied science, as well as the roles of different ways applied science can be funded, and implications of these funding mechanisms. 
• Introduction to Biology: Biology is the study of life and hence knowledge of plant and animal cell biology is fundamental to understanding wider concepts in biology. This unit also introduces key themes in human, environmental and ecological sciences to provide a sound underpinning in knowledge for future studies. 
• Introduction to Psychology: This unit is designed to prepare you for advanced coursework in psychology. You will complete the unit with a good understanding of the various areas of psychology and how they seek to explain behaviour. 
• Mathematics in Science: You will build your confidence in mathematics, in order to perform calculations on a range of scientific data from biology, chemistry and psychology and to be able to represent the findings in an appropriate format, including graphs. In order to carry this out, it is essential to be able to convert the data between systems of units and to understand how to present very large and very small numbers in standard form. Basic statistical analysis of tabulated data will be carried out to introduce the concept of confidence limits and familiarisation of statistical testing.
• Foundation Year Project: You will carry out a research task on scientific topics chosen by the unit leader which you will be able to conduct a scientific investigation on. You will devise your own investigation and produce a literature review as a final scientific report. 

Core units

• Midwifery Practice 1A: You will be introduced to the foundations of midwifery practice, gaining knowledge, applying skills and interacting with women and their babies during pregnancy, labour, birth and the postpartum period. You will also learn about and reflect on professional practice in midwifery.
• Midwifery Practice 1B: You will continue to experience midwifery practice in a range of contexts under the supervision of a midwife, and will reflect on your own practice in your role as a student midwife.
• Childbirth Journeys: This unit will provide you with an overview of how women and their families experience conception, pregnancy, labour, birth and the postnatal period. This will be linked to developing your knowledge around the systems of the body and how they adapt during childbearing. Blended learning, including lectures, seminars, group-work, situation-based   learning and input from women and families will be used to link these key areas of learning together.
• Fundamental Midwifery Care: During this unit, you will explore holistic midwifery care of the woman and her family throughout the childbirth continuum. In doing so you gain an understanding of evidence-based practice, which incorporates research evidence and responds to women’s choices and preferences to enable care to be in the best interests of mother and baby.
• Promoting Health: You will be introduced to the health promotion role of the midwife and explore theoretical aspects of health and wellbeing for the mother, infant and family. You will gain practical experience of health promotion and wellbeing services within the context of society.
• Foundations for Professional Practice and Research: This interprofessional unit will provide you with a foundation of the core values and skills that underpin professional practice. You will explore the social determinants of health, professional ethics and researching evidence. This will help you develop skills to prepare for your first practice placement by exploring the importance of respectful, reflective, resilient and person-centred professional practice.

Core units

• Midwifery Practice 2A: The aim of this unit is to advance your professional practice, by building knowledge and skills through interaction with women and their babies during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. It will also prepare you for offering continuity of care to a small caseload of women, strengthening your skills of multidisciplinary working and autonomous woman-centred practice.
• Midwifery Practice 2B: In this unit you will continue to develop your knowledge and skills in practice. Under the supervision of a midwife you will work in partnership with women and their families, health professionals, care workers and other agencies to offer evidence-based information, develop care plans and provide care tailored to women’s circumstances and needs. The unit will support your communication skills and personal wellbeing when caring for women with complex care needs, including bereavement.
• Medicines Optimisation and the Midwife: You will acquire the skills necessary for the safe administration of medicines and alternative treatments, gaining an understanding of medicine optimisation, including pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. In this unit you will demonstrate your ability to meet the standards of numeracy required to safely administer medicines.
• Complexity in Midwifery Care: You will learn about pre-existing and urgent complications in the childbearing continuum, and their impact on the woman, infant and family. It will support you to develop your knowledge so that can act promptly and appropriately manage complications.
• Local, National and Global Health: This unit will build your awareness of issues relating to the health and wellbeing of women, infants and families at local, national and global levels. You will develop skills in providing evidence-based information, while demonstrating respect for diverse social and cultural preferences, and recognising the need for adjustments for physical, cognitive, mental health and language needs.
• Research for Professional Practice: Building on foundation studies from year one you will work in an interprofessional group to advance your research understanding  and problem-solving skills to engage critically with evidence-based practice.

Core units

• Midwifery Practice 3A: You will advance and develop your skills and competencies for professional practice, with particular focus on the theoretical, practice and reflective knowledge required to assess newborn health during the physical examination of the newborn.
• Midwifery Practice 3B: You will continue to work in practice, consolidating your learning and experience from the whole programme. You will focus on enabling women’s own physical, mental and social resources during childbearing as well as supporting those with complex care needs. The unit  will facilitate your progression towards qualifying as a confident and proficient professional, capable of high quality, autonomous midwifery practice within the multiprofessional provision of care.
• Evidence for Midwifery Practice: During this unit you will undertake in-depth, independent study, focusing on an aspect of professional practice. As well as developing skills in searching and evaluating the quality of different types of literature, you will learn to analyse and synthesise the findings to identify evidence that will enhance practice.
• Care in Midwifery Emergencies: This unit will strengthen your understanding of emergency care in midwifery, enabling you to provide safe and effective care. It will support you in becoming a confident and reflective midwife who can work effectively within a multiprofessional situation.
• Leadership and Innovation in Midwifery Care: This unit will develop your knowledge and understanding of leadership skills and qualities,  using reflective, analytical and creative approaches to problem solving. You will critically analyse team and organisational leadership across the midwifery and health care continuum and consider the role of the midwife as a leader in care.
• Team Working for Service Improvement: During this unit, you will develop skills for working in inter-professional teams to design and develop service improvements for the people who use services and their carers.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. 

With practical learning being integral to your degree, we provide practice simulation facilities, including a maternity birthing suite, to mirror both clinical and community workplace settings and provide a safe environment.

We’re continuing to enhance our state-of-the-art facilities too – with our new Bournemouth Gateway Building currently under development, that will be the home to our Health & Social Care courses.

Visit our facilities page to find out more – you can also take a 360° tour to get a feel for where you’ll be studying if you’re based on our Lansdowne Campus.

If you’re going to study at our Portsmouth campus, view our Portsmouth page to see facilities there.

The UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) standards support, externally assess and accredit university programmes for the education that they provide for midwifery and health visiting students, with the aim of improving health professionals’ support for mothers and babies in relation to infant feeding and to encourage early relationships between mother and baby.

Programmes are externally assessed every three years and the BSc (Hons) Midwifery programme at BU has been fully accredited by UNICEF UK BFI since 2011 and received the Gold Award for achieving the Baby-Friendly sustainability standards in 2021. This demonstrates BU's commitment to providing excellent education in theory and clinical practice in order to ensure that newly qualified midwives are equipped with the knowledge and skills that they need to support breastfeeding and relationship building effectively.

Please note that the Foundation Year part of the course is not accredited. 

Your first placement will be in the first semester. Other clinical experiences will include neonatal care, gynaecology and theatre and throughout the course you will have the opportunity to organise a number of visits to areas/organisations of interest to you, in relation to public health.

Midwifery is a very rewarding but demanding career which requires shift-working at unsociable hours, and your placement will reflect this. You need to ensure you have a complete understanding of what the role of a midwife requires and the personal resilience to deal with the challenges associated. 

Half of your time on the course will be spent in practice placements so that you can gain clinical experience in all aspects of midwifery practice. You will work in both community and hospital settings and will experience the full 24-hour shift pattern which includes 12-13 hour shifts, weekends, on-calls and night shifts. You will follow the shift pattern of your allocated placement practice supervisor, which means you cannot choose which days you work. Although this does involve some weekend working, it is unlikely that you will be working every weekend.

Practice placements are planned carefully to ensure that you “work with and learn from a range of people in a variety of practice placements” to prepare you “to provide care to people with diverse needs” (NMC 2023 p9). When you commence the midwifery course you will be assigned a placement Trust (or where additional learning opportunities are needed possibly two Trusts). This will remain the same throughout the course and we are not usually able to move students. You will be assigned midwife link tutors who will provide support during both theoretical and practical experience. 

With exception to the above all midwifery students will be allocated a short placement at a different Trust. The aim of this is for you to experience a different maternity provider from your normal placement setting. This will offer you the opportunity to see different ways of working and leadership styles which will help them to provide safe, effective, and kind care (NMC 2023a).

Often, placements will be undertaken in outlying areas rather than solely in towns/cities. You need to consider this when making your application and be clear about what you will be undertaking. As your placement locality is assigned for the full length of the course, you will need to consider the realities of training within that geographical area and the associated travel and/or organise accommodation accordingly.  Whilst being flexible may in some circumstances increase your chances of success, being unrealistic can lead to problems during your course.

Your learning will be based at our Lansdowne Campus or at our Portsmouth Campus, while clinical placements will be in a variety of places, in order to provide the necessary breadth of experience. This will involve some travel (a guide of distance and travel time is given below) and may require you to find short-term accommodation in order to participate in block placements.

Although your term-time address and method of transport are taken into consideration when allocating your placements there is an expectation that all students will have to travel to reach their placements. Due to the more rural nature of some of the placements you may be required to travel to some remote locations, and some travel will be outside normal working hours due to the nature of shift work. You must ensure that you have means to travel to your placement location at unsociable hours and this may require you to use short-term accommodation options in order to participate in your placement.

To help you with this, the NHS learning support fund may be able to support eligible UK students with placement travel expenses and dual accommodation costs if required.

Due to placement availability, the placement location you are given when you are offered a place on the course will continue to be in the same clinical locality for the three years of your course except for the short placement.

If you are based in Bournemouth your clinical placements will be in the following locations:

• University Hospitals Dorset - Poole (6 miles) or Bournemouth (4 miles)
• Dorchester (30 miles from Bournemouth and up to an hour travel time by car)
• Salisbury (26 miles from Bournemouth and up to an hour travel time by car)
• Yeovil (50 miles from Bournemouth and up to an hour and half travel time by car)

If you are based at our Portsmouth campus your clinical placements will be in the following locations:

• Portsmouth
• Isle of Wight
• Winchester

Occupational Health (OH) Checks

This course is is physically and mentally demanding and you will  need to be mentally and physically able to undertake your chosen course. Places are offered subject to passing an OH check, and this will be carried out by the Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust. Health conditions  need to be dealt with on an individual basis e.g. deafness, blindness, eczema (or other dermatological allergic reactions) on exposed areas, epilepsy, back problems, or mental health conditions, eating disorders and other disabilities. These do not automatically exclude you but please ensure that you fully disclose your condition  to OH. The University can then consider the recommendations made by OH and whether reasonable adjustments can be made to support you on your chosen course. If you require more guidance please contact us for more information.

You will be required to provide a record of your immunity status or be vaccinated or have the required blood tests. You may need to ask your GP or current OH department or find your childhood vaccination record for details of your past immunisation records. You should be aware that there may be charges made (for which you will be liable) relating to your gaining the appropriate immunity required prior to starting your training programme.

Refusing Immunisations

The University has an expectation that all students will comply with the vaccination programme as it is Public Health England requirement for health care workers to have certain immunisations. This ensures that you will be able to undertake the wide range of training placements that your course will require and aims to keep you, as well as the people in your care as safe as possible. Please note that at this time Covid-19 vaccinations are not a mandatory requirement for healthcare workers and so are therefore not a mandatory requirement for healthcare students either. Occasionally some vaccinations are contraindicated in certain medical conditions. Occupational Health (OH) will advise the University in these cases. The University will consider students on an individual basis. Refusal to have immunisations may result in the student not being allowed to attend practice placement and being withdrawn from the course. There is no opportunity to appeal against the requirements of the immunisation policy.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check (previously known as CRB)

All successful applicants will be subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barred List check; this will be a condition of offer and will need to be completed prior to commencing the course. Please see the Government website for the most up to date information.

Terms of Expectations

It is important that you understand what will be expected of you as a student studying for both an academic award and professional qualification in midwifery. You must agree to adhere to the Student Midwife Terms of Expectation for studying at Bournemouth University as detailed in this document. Failure to comply with these expectations could lead to disciplinary action.

We are looking for applicants that can demonstrate their insight into the role of a Midwife through their work experience (paid or voluntary) in a care/healthcare setting or clear insight in the field of work being applied for. We understand that it may be difficult to gain experience within a Midwifery setting, so we can also consider the following:

• Charity work, leadership roles (such as within the Girl Guiding Association or similar).
• You may also be able to gain insight into the role through talking to midwives, talking to women who run support groups relating to breastfeeding, child health, or family care
• Reading relevant Midwifery journals and showing a clear insight into the role, for example ‘The Practising Midwife’ and accessing relevant websites, for example the NHS Careers website.

We'll use this information to shortlist applicants so it must be evidenced clearly on your UCAS application form in the employment history section and in your personal statement. 

AccessBU

AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships

We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry

We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website.

Direct entry

We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants

We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we’ll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You’ll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

Please only make one application for either our Bournemouth (main site) or Portsmouth campus. You should not make an application for both.

When applying through UCAS you will have two options to choose from, either our Portsmouth: St Mary's Community Health Campus or our Main Site, which is our Bournemouth Lansdowne campus. You will need the following codes and information for your application: 

Main site: Bournemouth, Lansdowne Campus: 

• Course code: B720
• Institution code: B50
• Campus name: Main Site
• Campus code: (n/a)

Portsmouth: St Mary's Community Health Campus

• Course code: B720
• Institution code: B50
• Campus name: Portsmouth: St. Mary's Community Health Campus
• Campus code: M

Please note that the Portsmouth St Mary’s campus is not a BU owned teaching base. If for any reason we are unable to continue to deliver teaching from St Mary’s we will need to transfer the teaching to an alternative location.

It is recommended that you have some paid or voluntary care/health work experience. If you do not have any, you should be able to demonstrate in your personal statement that you have a clear insight into the nature of caring in a health or social care role.

We understand the difficulty in gaining experience within a Midwifery setting, and suggest the following examples of how you may gain insight into the role of a midwife: talking to midwives, talking to women who run support groups relating to breastfeeding, child health, or family care, reading relevant Midwifery journals, for example ‘The Practising Midwife’ and accessing relevant websites, for example the NHS Careers website.

You will need to demonstrate that you currently have the skills to study at a higher education level (please see the Recommended Qualifications section). Evidence of recent study could be via a formal qualification or work-based activities completed in the last three years.

Bournemouth University sets its own academic entry criteria using the Nursing and Midwifery Council minimum entry requirements as a base and there is strong competition for places.

In the healthcare sector IT is now a vital tool for accessing and maintaining client records, accessing literature to client care and conducting clinically-related research. As a student you will receive an introduction to IT near the beginning of your course and you will be provided with computer access and your own email address.

During the course you will be expected to use your developing IT skills to produce assignments, to conduct literature searches, and to use client-related record systems in the clinical setting.

Our courses are built around the NHS constitution values, and when assessing your application we will take these values into consideration:

• Working together for patients
• Respect and dignity
• Commitment to quality of care
• Compassion
• Improving lives
• Everyone counts.

Find out more about the NHS Constitution principles.

In the healthcare sector IT is now a vital tool for accessing and maintaining patient records, accessing literature to client care and conducting clinically-related research. As a student you will receive an introduction to IT near the beginning of your course and you will be provided with computer access and your own email address.

During the course you will be expected to use your developing IT skills to produce assignments, to conduct literature searches, and to use client-related record systems in the clinical setting. Following instruction some of your study will be undertaken through web-based learning tools, for example by participating in online discussions.

We select candidates for this course by looking at your application. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. View our flowchart for information on how we process applications for courses with additional selection measures. 
 
For our health and social care courses our admissions team use the DRIVE criteria to assess your application and evidence of this must be show in your personal statement. You can also find some handy hints about filling in your UCAS form on our how to apply web pages. 
 
Please note that interviews are part of our selection process and you must be able to demonstrate at interview that you show the necessary insight into midwifery, as well as the motivation and commitment to become a midwife. 

What to expect at an interview

Your interview will take place online, on a free video communication platform.

A member of the Admissions Team will email you with joining instructions and information about what to expect at interview.

Your individual interview is where you will have the opportunity to tell us a little more about yourself and why you would be a great candidate for the course. You will be scored using a common template and offers will be made based on these scores.

If you are invited to interview, you will also be able to access online on-demand information presentations, course talks, virtual campus tours and more which you can watch before your interview. On the day of your interview you may also be able to join a live chat-room where you can ask questions to our current student ambassadors and other members of staff.

Additional reference

In addition to the reference on your UCAS form, once we’ve received your application we may contact you to ask for a second reference; depending on the course you’ve applied for, this may be an academic reference, or from an employer or person who knows you in a professional capacity.

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

AccessBU gives you the chance to tell us more about you and your life experiences if you haven’t had the same educational opportunities as other applicants. If you are eligible for AccessBU, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS Tariff Points below the published tariff.

When do you find out if you have been successful?

For those who do attend an Applicant Selection Day, your file will be reviewed and a decision will be made on whether to offer you a place on the programme. Only once we have completed all interview days will applicants be selected, and offers will be made through the UCAS system. Decisions are typically made and updated on UCAS by the end of March.

You can find further information about interviews with the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences here.

Among the roles you can go into after graduating are:

• Midwife
• Maternity support worker
• Health visitor
• Children's community nursary nurse.

On graduating successfully from this course, you can apply for registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC), and this degree is also UNICEF Baby Friendly Accredited.

Industries worked in

• Healthcare
• Education.

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. Please visit our Postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master's degrees.

You can also continue studying and enhancing your knowledge through the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) framework.

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and/or fieldwork and non-financial support whilst on placement
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Free software download to your personal device of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus while you are studying, as well as access to applications provided on AppsAnywhere, subject to licensing and compatibility restrictions
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team
• Professional body accreditation of the course
• Occupational Health Services and checks but you will be charged if you do not attend Occupational Health appointments without giving appropriate notice
• We will provide you with one standard set of uniform. Additional uniform items must be ordered by students, and this will incur an additional cost. Students will need to purchase appropriate footwear.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses
• You will need to meet the cost of an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check as a condition of enrolment, including any Post Office verification charges. 
• You may need to pay for immunisations if they are not covered by your GP
• Accommodation and living costs. Please visit our website for more information
• Travel costs to and from the University campus (including for occupational health referrals if required). An annual bus pass can be purchased alongside your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately
• Your placement could be at various locations across the southwest region. Eligible UK students may claim reimbursement towards travel and accommodation costs from the NHS. Please visit the NHS Business Services Authority website for more information. International students will need to cover these costs in addition to their course fee. 
• You may be able to claim reimbursement from the NHS. Please visit the NHS Business Services Authority website for more information: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-learning-support-fund
• There may be an additional charge for replacement uniforms
• You may have the opportunity to study abroad as part of your programme, and there may be some additional costs attached to this
• SportBU membership

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

All UK midwifery students may be eligible for a government training grant of at least £5,000 a year which you will not need to pay back. 

Students will receive at least £5,000 a year, with further funding available for eligible students, including:

• Parental Support allowance of £1,000, on top of the £1,000 already on offer. 
• Up to £1,000 specialist subject payment for subjects such as mental health nursing. 
• A regional incentive payment in areas of the country which have seen a decrease in people accepted on some nursing, midwifery and allied health courses.

Students will not need to apply for specialist subject or incentive payments as they will be automatically added to their account, if eligible. 

This means that some students could be eligible for up to £8,000 per year, with everyone getting at least £5,000. 

Please note that this funding is not available for students on the Foundation Year, however you will be able to access it once you complete the foundation year and move onto the degree. Eligibility criteria applies to any grants.

Juliet has a wide variety of clinical experience in hospital, community, midwifery-led and independent team midwifery both in the UK and in South Africa where she also lectured at the University of Cape Town.

She was a lead researcher on a large-scale randomised controlled trial on the management of the third stage of labour and her PhD was a discourse analysis of blood loss in normal childbirth. She is particularly interested in maintaining normality in maternity care, promoting continuity of care and thinking about midwifery from an international perspective.

Debee has been a registered midwife since 1986, mainly working at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital midwifery-led unit from 1992-2004 as a registered midwife and clinical coordinator. Working in a midwife-led unit resulted in a reappraisal of her philosophy of midwifery and consequently she has a keen interest in facilitating normal birth.

During her time at Bournemouth University, she completed her advanced diploma in nursing and her Bsc (Hons) midwifery practice which led her into education and her consequent post as a midwifery lecturer. While at the university, Debee has been involved in numerous units but currently leads on the year two medicine management unit which inspired her to enrol on the Professional Doctorate in October 2013.

The focus of her research is around medicine management in midwifery and the title is ‘An interpretive phenomenological study exploring midwives experiences of medicine management in contemporary UK midwifery practice to enhance safety’. She has now completed her progression transfer and is starting to interview midwives.

The rationale for her doctorate is that there is limited research into midwives and medicines and that, due to the complexity of the childbirth continuum, pharmaceuticals, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and therapeutics are increasingly part of a registered midwives every day practice, therefore midwives need evidence-based knowledge to ensure women’s care is not compromised.

Alison has thirty years of clinical experience, working in all aspects of clinical practice. Areas of scholarship include infant feeding and using audio visual data in research and education. She is lead lecturer for infant feeding on a number of health programmes and successfully directed the curriculum so that BU has achieved the UNICEF Baby Friendly Award for University standards for the BSC (Hons) Midwifery programme.

Her PhD explored mothers’ experiences of breastfeeding recorded in video diaries. She is currently midwifery lead for a joint inter-professional newborn feeding clinic at the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic where student midwives and chiropractic interns work together to support breastfeeding mothers and babies.

Catherine is proud to have once been a Bournemouth University midwifery student herself. She worked in practice before undertaking her PhD, after which she became a midwifery lecturer and researcher.

She is currently Programme Lead for the Midwifery programmes and teaches a diverse number of subjects across the programme including evidence-based practice, fetal monitoring and aspects of postnatal care. She also co-leads the Faculty’s inter-professional research unit.

Her research interests include education and learning, practice development and infant feeding. She supports a number of PhD students, researching midwifery care and infant health in the UK and in Nepal.

Denyse is a registered midwifery lecturer teaching midwifery two days per week, and a registered public health practitioner, working two days per week for her local Public Health Department.

She is currently researching the effectiveness of MaCO as a learning experience from learners ranging from nursery nurses through healthcare students, and qualified professionals such as school nurses, health visitors, midwives and GPs.