Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Midwifery at University of Malta

The main aim of the course is to prepare the graduate to achieve the competencies needed to be able to fulfil the requirements of a midwife as laid down in the definition of the midwife, International Confderation of Midwives (ICM 2017) and comply with European Union, Midwives Directive 80/154/EEC Article 4, Directive 2005/36/EC Article 42, amended by Directive 2013/55/EU, and with the Health Care Professions Act [cap.464, p4, art IV, 23(5)]

These competencies include:

• To provide sound family planning information and advice

• To diagnose pregnancies and monitor normal pregnancies to carry out examinations necessary for the monitoring of the development of normal pregnancies

• To prescribe or advise on the examinations necessary for the earliest possible diagnosis of pregnancies at risk

• To provide a programme of parenthood preparation and a complete preparation for childbirth including advice on hygiene and nutrition

• To care for and assist the mother during labour and to monitor the condition of the foetus in utero by the appropriate clinical and technical means

• To conduct spontaneous deliveries including where required an episiotomy and in urgent cases a breech delivery

• To recognize the warning signs of abnormality in the mother or infant which necessitate referral to a doctor and to assist the latter where appropriate; to take the necessary emergency measure in the doctor’s absence, in particular the manual removal of the placenta, possibly followed by manual examination of the uterus

• To examine and care for the new-born infant; to take all initiatives which are necessary in case of need and to carry out where necessary immediate resuscitation

• To care for and monitor the progress of the mother in the postnatal period and to give all necessary advice to the mother on infant care to enable her to ensure the optimum progress of the new-born infant

• To carry out the treatment prescribed by a doctor

• To maintain all necessary records” (Health Care Professions Act Part IV, 23 (5) and European Union Midwives Directive 80/154/EEC Article 4).

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the graduate will also be able to:

• Develop family–centred care, responsive to the needs of women and their families in a variety of care settings. This will be reflected in the capacity to assess the needs of women and to provide care and support for women throughout the pre-conception, antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal periods.

• Be competent in the effective and efficient management of care for women and their families managing and prioritizing competing demands. The emphasis being on the provision of holistic care for women and their families which respect their individual needs, contexts, cultures and choices.

• Work collaboratively within the interdisciplinary care team, demonstrating overall competence in fulfilling the midwife’s role.

• Recognize moral obligations and the need to accept personal responsibility for their own ethical choices within specific situations based on their own professional judgment.

• Be competent in the setting and maintenance of appropriate standards of the various dimensions of midwifery care. 

• Develop the concept of lifelong learning in graduates, encompassing key skills including communication and teamwork.

• Take account of the changing nature and contents of midwifery practice.

• Be knowledgeable of the concept of evidence-based practice and learning. 

• The graduate will be able to search the evidence base, analyse, criticise and use evidence in practice; disseminate research findings and adopt and change practice where appropriate.

Career opportunites and access to further studies

On successfully completing this course the graduate will be eligible to be registered by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and eligible to be licensed by the President of Malta to practise the profession of Midwife. 

Midwives are responsible and accountable professionals who work in partnership with women and their families to give the necessary support, care education and advice during preconception, pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period. Midwives may practise in any setting including the home, community, Health Centres, Hospitals, Clinics, and Birth Centres. Midwives abide by the Midwives Code of Practice (NMC, 2005) and the Maltese Code of Ethics for Nurses and Midwives (1997).

Graduate midwives may also opt to become midwifery practitioners and/or further their studies and aim for an academic and/or research, or managerial career in midwifery.

B.Sc. (Hons) Midwifery Graduates may further their studies locally by reading for a Master Degree in Midwifery and/or PhD Midwifery.