Standards of proficiency for midwives 0 Guides

The Nursing and Midwifery Council has a duty to review the standards of proficiency that we set for the professions we regulate on a regular basis. This is to ensure that standards remain contemporary and fit for purpose. In reviewing these standards, new evidence and the changes that are taking place in society, midwifery, maternity and neonatal care services have been considered, along with the implications these have for the role of midwives of the future. The standards of proficiency in this document specify the knowledge, understanding and skills that midwives must demonstrate at the point of qualification, when caring for women across the maternity journey, newborn infants, partners and families across all care settings. They reflect what the public can expect midwives to know and be able to do in order to deliver safe, effective, respectful, kind, compassionate, person-centred midwifery care. They also provide a benchmark for midwives from overseas wishing to join the UK register, as well as for those who plan to return to practice after a period of absence.