Midwifery is a distinct, autonomous profession — not a branch of nursing — and UK employers expect a midwife's CV to prove that from the very first line. A birth centre lead or a Trust head of midwifery scanning applications will look first for one thing: are you currently registered as a midwife, and can that be verified in seconds? Get that right, and the rest of the CV can do its job of showing the breadth and depth of your clinical practice.
How to Write a Midwife CV (UK Guide + NMC Registration & Example)
Registration First: The NMC Midwives Part of the Register
Every practising midwife in the UK must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) — but on the Midwives part of the register, which is separate from the Nurses part. State this explicitly on your CV: “Registered Midwife (RM)” with your NMC PIN, placed directly under your name and contact details or as the opening line of your professional statement. A recruiter needs to confirm your current registration on the NMC register within seconds, and burying this detail lower down the page slows that check and can cost you a shortlist place.
If you trained outside the UK, be precise about where you stand in the NMC's Test of Competence route for internationally-educated midwives: whether you have completed the Computer Based Test (CBT), whether you have booked or passed the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), and your expected registration date. Many Trusts run dedicated international recruitment pathways for midwives at each stage of this process, so honesty about your exact position is more useful to a recruiter than vague wording.
Revalidation is required every three years to remain on the register, and a brief note that you are up to date is worth including — it signals current reflective practice and ongoing professional development. If you are a newly qualified midwife (NQM) still completing preceptorship, say so clearly rather than presenting yourself as a fully independent practitioner before that period is complete.
Structuring Your Midwife CV
Keep the structure scannable: contact details, professional statement (registration status and PIN up front), key clinical skills, professional experience in reverse chronological order, education and qualifications, and mandatory training. Two pages is typical for a midwife with a few years' post-registration experience; a newly qualified midwife can often fit everything onto one.
Your professional statement should compress your registration, years of experience, model of care you're most experienced in, and one or two standout strengths into two or three sentences. Skip generic lines like “compassionate and dedicated” on their own — every midwife applying is expected to be compassionate; what sets you apart is the specific care you've delivered and the settings you've worked in.
Your key skills section should read as a scannable list, not prose, since this is what NHS e-recruitment systems and human recruiters both search first for keyword matches. Our guide to writing an ATS-friendly CV covers the general principles; pair it with the midwifery-specific keywords below.
Each role in your experience section should name the Trust or employer, the specific unit — labour ward, midwife-led birth centre, community/caseloading team, antenatal clinic, maternity assessment unit (MAU) or triage, postnatal ward — your dates, and your Agenda for Change band, followed by three to five bullet points describing your actual caseload, acuity, and responsibilities.
Clinical Keywords and Skills That Matter
Name your clinical competencies explicitly, since both NHS recruitment software and a hiring manager will search for this exact terminology: antenatal care, intrapartum care, labour and delivery, postnatal care, continuity of carer, water birth, perineal repair and suturing, cannulation and venepuncture, cardiotocography (CTG) and fetal monitoring interpretation, newborn and neonatal examination, breastfeeding and infant feeding support, safeguarding for women and newborns, risk assessment, and management of obstetric emergencies such as postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) and shoulder dystocia.
Mandatory and specialist training deserves its own clearly dated section: PROMPT (obstetric emergencies) training, Newborn Life Support (NLS), Basic Life Support (BLS), safeguarding at the level required for your role, and manual handling. Spell acronyms out at least once — Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), National Health Service (NHS), cardiotocography (CTG), postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) — so screening software and recruiters outside your own Trust can match you correctly.
If you have experience across multiple models of care, name each one rather than lumping them together: hospital labour ward with high-acuity or consultant-led care, midwife-led birth centre for low-risk births, community or caseloading midwifery with home births and continuity of carer, and antenatal or triage settings. A CV that shows range across models of care, with the specific responsibilities of each named, reads as considerably stronger than one that just lists job titles.
Newly Qualified Midwives, Bands and Career Progression
Newly qualified midwives (NQMs) typically start on a structured preceptorship programme at Band 5, moving to Band 6 once preceptorship is complete and competencies are signed off — usually within the first year of registration. Our NHS Band pay guide breaks down what each band means for pay and expected scope of responsibility, which is worth checking before you apply so you target roles realistically.
If you trained as a registered nurse before completing a shortened pre-registration midwifery programme, it's worth briefly noting that route in your education section, since some employers value the additional clinical grounding — but lead with your midwifery registration and competencies, not your nursing background, since the role you're applying for is a midwifery post. Readers coming from nursing recruitment may find our nurse CV guide useful for comparison, though midwifery is registered and assessed separately by the NMC.
Community and caseload midwifery experience is increasingly sought after as Trusts expand continuity-of-carer models, so if you've worked in this setting, describe the actual caseload size, geographic area, and how you managed antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care for the same group of women — this is different work from rotational ward-based midwifery and should be described as such rather than folded into generic “clinical experience” bullet points.
NHS Applications and the Supporting Information Statement
As with most NHS clinical roles, your CV is usually only part of what gets you shortlisted for a Trust maternity post. NHS Jobs and Trac applications are typically built around a detailed supporting information statement mapped against the person specification, and this document often carries more weight than the CV itself. Our guide to NHS supporting information walks through how to structure that statement against essential and desirable criteria.
If you're applying to independent midwifery practice, private maternity providers, or agency work rather than an NHS Trust, the CV itself carries more relative weight, since these routes rarely use the same supporting-information format. In that case, put extra effort into a sharp, specific personal statement — our CV personal statement guide can help you tighten that opening section.
Personal statement example: “Registered Midwife (RM), NMC PIN [XX000000], with [X] years’ post-registration experience across labour ward and midwife-led birth centre settings. Currently Band 6, with strong skills in intrapartum care, perineal repair, and CTG interpretation, and a track record of supporting women through continuity-of-carer pathways. Seeking a senior midwifery role within a busy maternity unit.”
Key skills example: Antenatal, intrapartum & postnatal care • Continuity of carer & caseload midwifery • CTG & fetal monitoring interpretation • Perineal repair & suturing • Cannulation & venepuncture • Newborn examination & infant feeding support • Safeguarding (women & newborns) • Obstetric emergency management (PROMPT-trained) • NMC registered (Midwife), PIN available on request
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I put my NMC PIN on my midwife CV?
Yes. As a Registered Midwife, your NMC PIN should appear near the top of your CV, ideally in your professional statement or contact details, so recruiters can verify your registration on the Midwives part of the NMC register quickly.
How do I present my CV if I'm still awaiting OSCE results as an internationally-educated midwife?
Be explicit about your progress through the NMC's Test of Competence route: state clearly whether you've completed the Computer Based Test, whether your Objective Structured Clinical Examination is booked or passed, and your expected registration date. Many Trusts have dedicated international midwifery recruitment pathways for candidates at this stage.
What band should a newly qualified midwife expect?
Newly qualified midwives typically start a preceptorship programme at Band 5, progressing to Band 6 once competencies are signed off, usually within the first year of registration. Exact timing and banding depend on the specific Trust and role.
Does my CV or my NHS supporting information matter more?
For most NHS Trust maternity applications made via NHS Jobs or Trac, the supporting information statement mapped against the person specification typically carries more weight in shortlisting than the CV itself. Both matter, but prioritise the supporting statement if your time is limited.
Should I separate my community and hospital experience on the CV?
Yes. Community or caseload midwifery and hospital-based ward or labour ward midwifery involve different responsibilities and models of care, so describe each setting distinctly rather than combining them into one generic block of “clinical experience.”
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