The Bachelor of Midwifery is a professionally-accredited degree that qualifies you to register as a midwife. It is recognised as an approved program of study by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of
Australia. At CDU, you can study a Bachelor of Midwifery online with intensive weeks (clinical teaching blocks) or on campus, full-time or part-time, as you learn from experts in the field.
As a graduate of the Bachelor of Midwifery, you will be ready to provide woman-centred, evidence-based care for women, babies and families throughout the childbearing journey in a variety of
settings, with a particular focus on rural, remote and Indigenous. You will help to promote the health and wellbeing of women and their families by supporting the woman's childbearing choices and
providing expertise around pregnancy, birth, postnatal and the newborn period. You will also be prepared to collaborate with other health professionals to continue midwifery care in complex
situations.
CDU's Bachelor of Midwifery is aligned with the International Confederation of Midwive's definition of a midwife, and is suited to motivated, determined and organised students.
Studying a Bachelor of Midwifery online
CDU is one of the largest providers of online midwifery and nursing degrees. We have been delivering distance education for more than 30 years.
As an online midwifery student, you will have access to extensive technical and academic support, an easy-to-use online learning platform, and a network of nearly 400 midwifery students situated
right across Australia.
You will enjoy the flexibility of fitting studying around your family and work commitments, and will need to be disciplined and committed in making time for study.
Practical placements.
In order to complete the Bachelor of Midwifery, you are required to undertake clinical placements. This provides you with invaluable practical experience and the readiness for midwifery practice.
Placements in the Eastern States have become increasingly more difficult to secure since the COVID pandemic. This has resulted in some students needing to travel interstate for up to six weeks at a
time to complete their placement requirements.
Continuity of care is a core element of the course so a commitment to out-of-hours and between semester clinical work is required. Students must follow 10 women across the duration of the degree,
seeing these women four times antenatally, being on call for birth, and seeing them twice postnatally. These requirements are in addition to placement. These experiences must be done in your local
community due to the many months of a woman's journey. It also requires access to your local hospitals who may or may not support you to visit their facilities.
It is important to be aware that:
- In order to progress in the course, you are required to attend placements.
- All placements are arranged by CDU.
- Placements may include morning, evening, night, weekend and public holiday shifts. They may be scheduled shifts or on-call shifts.
- Non-attendance at placement may only occur in extenuating circumstances which, for the purpose of placements, do not include childcare and work commitments.
Safe practice
To study a Bachelor of Midwifery, you will need to have an inherent set of requirements. These are the essential abilities, knowledge and skills needed to achieve course learning outcomes and to be
able to safely practice as a midwife.
Potential applicants are advised that midwifery is a profession which places considerable physical and psychological demands on the individual however the rewards of the profession can be
profound.
Reporting obligations
Under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, CDU is required to register midwifery students with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and to notify AHPRA if a
student has or develops a health impairment that may place the public at substantial risk of harm. Students have obligations under the National Law and are expected to understand their obligations
prior to enrolling. More information on Student Registration is available on the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia website. |
