Maternity Support Worker
Last updated: 31 August 2023
Maternity Support Worker
Maternity support workers are the frontline of a family's journey through pregnancy, childbirth and the first few days of birth. Under the direction of a qualified midwife, they support families on labour wards, in maternity theatres and on post-natal wards.
A day in the life
As a maternity support worker, you'll work under the supervision of a registered midwife. They are sometimes also known as maternity healthcare support workers or midwifery assistants.
You'll be:
- helping to care for individuals that are birthing and babies
- making routine observations (temperature, pulse, blood pressure, breathing, etc)
- updating records and other admin tasks
- educating parents one-to-one or in groups
- taking blood samples for testing
- ordering stationery and equipment
- preparing equipment
- promoting breastfeeding
- reporting problems to a registered midwife or nurse
You need to be able to cope with emergency situations and straightforward labour and birth.
Your development
You will get the training you need to do the job. This includes an introduction to the department, how to use the equipment and the procedures to follow.
You may be offered the chance to study for qualifications such as:
- the NCFE CACHE level 2 Certificate in Healthcare Support Services
- the NCFE CACHE level 3 Diploma in Healthcare Support
- an apprenticeship as a healthcare support worker
You could join the Royal College of Midwives (RCM). The RCM runs courses, conferences and seminars where you can update their skills and network with others working in the same field.
With experience you could become a senior support worker. You could apply for other jobs in the wider healthcare team or you could apply to train as an assistant practitioner, nursing associate, midwife or nurse.
For more information regarding joining our Maternity team, please submit a form through the ‘Contact us’ page or contact the Recruitment team, who are more than happy to help, on 02392 286000 ext. 6577 or email recruitment.enquiries@porthosp.nhs.uk
My story
Harrison Willoughby
Maternity Support Worker
What made you become a maternity support worker? - I am passionate about giving the best care there is to offer and it was something I knew I would be good at.
How did you become a maternity support worker? - I previously worked on maternity reception for two years providing the unit, midwives and maternity support workers with administration support. I applied via the NHS jobs website.
What do you do on a day to day basis? -
- assisting and educating mums on breast and artificial feeding.
- performing and recording mum and baby observations.
- providing antenatal, labour and post-natal care.
- providing support to the midwives.
- clerical and housekeeping duties.
- cleaning.
- taking mum and baby bloods.
- removing catheters and cannulas.
Why did you choose PHU? - I picked PHU as my place of work because it was convenient for me as I live locally, and I also have family and friends that work here and having nothing but positive things to say.
What do you enjoy most about being a maternity support worker? - There are many reasons why I enjoy being a maternity support worker, i think some of the main ones are:
- Being able to be part of the women’s pregnancy journey.
- Making the mums feel confident and well support with their babies feeding.
- Being an advocate for women.
- The range of diverse people I meet.
Career plans and advice to others - I am currently studying an access to higher education course at college in hopes to start an midwifery degree in September to become a midwife. Any advice that I can give is if at first you do not succeed try and try again! It took me two tries to become a maternity support worker, so if its something you really want to do and something you are really passionate about keep trying until you reach your end goal.
