Is midwifery harder than nursing? Helpful insights for future healthcare professionals

When it comes to pursuing a healthcare career, both midwifery and nursing offer you the chance to make a meaningful impact. However, is midwifery harder than nursing? Or, is nursing a more challenging career?

This article answers the above question, taking into account the various factors that influence how hard each profession is, from education requirements to daily tasks to the career progression and opportunities of each role. You’ll be able to compare both midwifery and nursing to help you understand which path may align best with your career goals, strengths and interests.

The verdict: is midwifery harder than nursing?

The deeper answer is that both paths are challenging for their own unique reasons. Each requires a substantial time and study investment, a passion for delivering high-quality patient care and the dedication to continue learning to develop yourself for a long-lasting career.

Ultimately, the ‘difficulty’ factor is highly subjective and will depend on your personal and professional ambitions as well as your innate strengths and commitment to your chosen field. Read on for insights into the various factors that can affect the difficulty of each role to help illuminate which career may be harder, whether it’s midwifery or nursing.

Factors that influence the difficulty of each field

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Study requirements of midwives vs nurses

The total time to qualify in either profession is comparable, ranging between three and five years, depending on your previous education and specific entry pathway into either role.

What qualifications do midwives need?

To become a midwife in Australia, you’ll need to complete a course accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council.

You can study a Bachelor of Midwifery, which typically takes three years to complete full-time. Alternatively, you can first complete a Bachelor of Nursing as a pathway toward becoming a midwife. Once you are a registered nurse, you can complete postgraduate studies in midwifery to become qualified as a midwife. A Graduate Certificate in Midwifery typically takes between 6 and 12 months to complete full-time, while a Graduate Diploma of Midwifery typically takes between 12 to 18 months to complete full-time. The pathway of a nursing degree plus an additional postgraduate midwifery course can take between four and five years in total.

Curtin University offers a Master of Midwifery, which is available to students with a bachelor’s degree in any field who don’t have a prior nursing degree. This postgraduate degree takes two years to complete full-time.

After completing your required midwifery courses, you’ll gain registration as a midwife with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) under the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra), which has annual renewal and professional development requirements.

Once you become a registered midwife, there are various master’s degrees in midwifery to help advance your clinical expertise in the field of midwifery to pursue leadership and education roles. These courses are offered online and on campus to give you flexible study options to suit your work and lifestyle needs.

What qualifications do nurses need?

The most common education pathway to become a registered nurse is to complete a Bachelor of Nursing, which takes three years of full-time study. If you have a prior degree in another field, you may be eligible to enrol into a graduate entry Master of Nursing program. This can take around two years to complete full-time.

Once you’ve completed your course, you’ll apply for registration with the NMBA under Ahpra, which is a requirement of nurses similar to midwives.

There are many specialisations in nursing to pursue depending on your interests and career goals. Here are some examples of postgraduate nursing courses you can complete to expand your nursing career into new and exciting fields:

• Flinders University: Graduate Certificate in Child and Family Health Nursing
• Charles Sturt University: Graduate Certificate in Nursing (Rural and Remote Nursing)
• Murdoch University: Graduate Certificate in Gerontological Healthcare
• Queensland University of Technology: Graduate Certificate in Nursing (Intensive Care Nursing)
• University of Notre Dame: Graduate Diploma of Perioperative Nursing

James Cook University (JCU) Online’s Master of Nursing Majoring in Leadership and Management is for nurses interested in developing their skills to pursue senior and leadership roles, such as nurse unit manager and director of nursing. You’ll advance your informatics, clinical governance and business knowledge in order to work effectively as an inspiring leader.

Victoria University (VU) Online’s Master of Mental Health Nursing is credentialled by the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses and provides advanced knowledge of mental health nursing practices. You’ll gain in-demand skills to support the mental wellbeing of patients using a recovery-oriented and trauma-informed care framework.

University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Online’s Master of Advanced Nursing Majoring in Chronic and Complex Care is for nurses who want to build their expertise to support the increasing prevalence of chronic disease among patients. You’ll gain evidence-based, person-centred and inclusive nursing practice skills to pursue roles such as nurse unit manager, clinical nurse specialist, nurse educator or nurse researcher.

The differences between midwifery and nursing roles

There is some overlap in roles, responsibilities and work environments in midwifery and nursing. However, some distinct differences are also present between these two roles.

Midwifery

Midwives play an essential role providing care and advice to expectant mothers throughout their perinatal journey. They give antenatal advice during pregnancy and support during delivery and birth. They can refer to an obstetrician if there are complications during pregnancy or if it’s considered high-risk.

Midwives are trained to assess the progression of labour and may also work with an obstetrician who will support delivery if it becomes complex or abnormal. They also provide important postnatal care to the new mother and baby for typically around six weeks postpartum. Midwives may work in birth centres, community health clinics, public and private hospitals, rural health clinics and can provide in-home care for home-birth patients. Depending on the specific setting, some work environments may be more stressful or difficult than others, such as a busy hospital versus a patient’s home environment.

Nursing

Nurses can provide care for patients of any age and health condition. Their specific role may vary depending on their area of specialisation or work setting. The broad role of nurses includes providing acute, critical or ongoing patient care, assessing and monitoring patients, administering medication, managing wound care, coordinating with multidisciplinary healthcare teams and providing education and emotional support to patients to help them in their recovery.

Some nurses with advanced training and clinical experience go on to become nurse practitioners, who can diagnose and treat medical conditions, refer patients for pathology tests and prescribe medications. Nurses work in a wide variety of settings. For example, public and private hospitals, schools, rural and remote health centres, in surgical and perioperative settings as well as in oncology nursing. Some of these settings may present more challenges and difficulties than others, depending on the patient type, specific role and your personal strengths and interests.

Career aspects of midwifery and nursing

Job demand

There are 21,100 currently employed midwives in Australia. The industry is expected to grow by 14.9 per cent over the next five years, indicating a strong future demand for midwifery.

Australia has 361,200 currently employed registered nurses. Job growth projections for nursing are expected to rise by 13.9 per cent over the next five years, highlighting a very strong future demand for nurses.

Monash University data revealed over 90 per cent of Bachelor of Nursing and Master of Nursing Practice graduates secured employment, while 100 per cent of Bachelor of Nursing and Bachelor of Midwifery (Hons) graduates gained employment in 2024.

These figures show growing trends in both fields, which may also indicate stronger competition, depending on the sector, specialisation or where you want to work.

Specialisation potential

Midwifery is highly specialised with a focus on pregnancy, birth and postnatal care for new mothers and babies. These roles are dedicated to one patient type as midwives become experts in a niche field of perinatal health. Some midwives may pursue further training in related areas such as neonatal care or lactation and breastfeeding consultancy to expand their scope and deepen their knowledge in relation to supporting women and babies further.

Nursing encompasses a broad scope in various medical specialties and patient care needs. Examples of nursing specialisations include acute care, paediatric nursing, community nursing, mental health nursing, travel nursing and perioperative nursing. The complexity of some nursing specialisations can contribute to how hard the role may be, which includes the additional study required to gain advanced knowledge in that field.

Physical and emotional demands

As a midwife, assisting with labour and delivery over the course of many hours can be physically demanding. Caring for two people at the same time, both with different needs can also be a distinct challenge inherent to this role. Generally, there are high levels of emotional demand due to the responsibility of caring for both mother and baby and the potential for emergency or difficult clinical situations.

Nursing is also commonly physically demanding due to shift-work, long hours and variation of responsibilities with patient care. The emotional demands are high due to exposure to critical and acute patient presentations, high patient load as well as supporting patients and families.

Work-life balance

For prenatal care, there may be more predictable hours and less impact on work-life balance for midwives. When supporting labour and birth, these work hours may be unpredictable and include nights or weekend shifts, which may cause greater disruptions to personal and family commitments.

The work-life balance in nursing is variable, depending on the specific role, responsibilities and workplace setting. Shift work is common in hospitals, whereas weekday rosters may be applicable to schools, community clinics and medical centres. Striking the right balance in your role as a nurse can help ensure you avoid burnout and continue to thrive in your career.

Patient dynamics

Being a midwife offers the chance to build intimate and caring relationships with women during their pregnancy, birth and postpartum period. The continuity of care that is built into midwifery can add a rewarding and meaningful dynamic to the role.

Nursing involves a variety of patient dynamics and relationship-building opportunities. Some may be short-term in acute care or day hospitals, while long-term relationships may be fostered in critical care/ICU or aged care nursing. Depending on the patient type and what level of care they need, some patient relationships can be rewarding, adding to a greater level of job satisfaction. Others can be difficult or stressful, especially if patients are in pain or terminally ill.

Professional autonomy

Midwives generally have greater autonomy in their decision-making in their roles as they are often solely responsible for their patients. Some midwives can practice independently, such as private midwives who attend in-home births. This level of responsibility may contribute to the difficulty of the role, which will vary among individual midwives.

Generally, nurses work under a doctor’s direction and are collaborative with other health professionals. Autonomy in nursing roles may increase with experience, specialisation and greater scope of practice. Examples of these roles include nurse practitioners, associate nurse unit manager (ANUM), nurse unit manager (NUM) and director of nursing (DON) positions.

Career fulfilment

Being a part of an expectant mother’s journey, supporting families, gaining expertise in women’s health and witnessing the joys of childbirth can be an immensely fulfilling experience for many midwives.

Nursing is vastly fulfilling due to the wide range of populations, specialties and expertise required to support patient health. Nurses can make an impact across various health areas with many opportunities to advance their careers into new horizons, including leadership roles or nurse educator roles.

Reflect on what you want for your career

Madeline’s nursing insights

Registered nurse, Madeline Kessler says if you’re someone considering midwifery over nursing, to keep in mind that the job may be different to your expectations. She says that a common misconception about midwifery is that it’s all about cuddling and caring for babies. However, the truth is that there are far more demands and complexities involved.

It’s multifaceted and requires a great depth of skill, difficulty and emotional challenges. “Midwifery can have a slightly glamorous or romantic appeal, whereas in reality it’s super challenging. You’re dealing with people who are in their most terrified, vulnerable space.”

She also explains that it may be helpful to consider your long-term career trajectory if you’re weighing up between either profession. There may be limitations if you gain a midwifery qualification only, whereas a dual degree or pursuing nursing initially and later moving into midwifery opens up more career opportunities and the chance to diversify.

“The hindrance to just doing midwifery is you might find that it’s not your space for the long-term.” She adds that in this circumstance, you’ll need to go back to study to move into other areas, whether it’s clinical nursing, pathology or hospital in the home.

She emphasises the added value that a nursing degree brings to a midwifery role. “You’ve got some foundational skills with observations, general nursing care and sensory acuity.”

Kay Lin’s nursing and midwifery musings

Kay Lin Meacco is a registered nurse and midwife who completed a dual nursing and midwifery degree at Monash University. She has experience in both fields and has enjoyed working primarily as a midwife at a large tertiary hospital in Victoria over the last 7 years. Currently, she spends her time rotating around the pregnancy clinic, postnatal and birth unit areas at Monash Health.

She shares her perspectives on both healthcare roles, explaining that while she practices as a midwife, she leans on her nursing expertise frequently in her role. “Most of our patients have many co-morbidities, so we still get to use our nursing knowledge and skills every day.” She explains that what she loves most about nursing is the variety of different areas to specialise in. “I learn something new every day and I love working in a team environment. It can be a pretty chaotic job, but ultimately a lot of fun.”

Kay Lin says that there are also many aspects of midwifery that she enjoys. “I love being able to work in a multi-disciplinary team every day, learning from other people and coming together to provide the best possible care for women and their families. I love that midwifery is so much about advocating for women and empowering them to make their own decisions about their bodies, labour and birth.”

While the role has many rewarding elements, she says that the emotional demands are also very real. A major challenge is providing care for patients who have experienced pregnancy loss or a traumatic experience surrounding pregnancy or birth. She says that self-care and pursuing personal interests are key to ensuring she maintains a good work-life balance. “I’ve definitely learnt the importance of asking for support (and a hug) and having hobbies outside work.”

Looking ahead in her career, Kay Lin says the satisfaction she derives from her role as a midwife in her current position has helped her solidify her love for clinical work. “At the moment, I can see myself working in the clinical area, or “on the floor” for a long time. I love the team I work in and the craziness of our units.”

In her view, she believes both roles have challenges, however nursing is likely the more challenging role of the two. “They are similar, but… nursing is definitely harder.”

Questions to ask yourself for career clarity

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While there are many things to consider when it comes to making a decision on which career path to choose, thinking about who you want to work with can be a helpful first step.

Explore the questions above to see if your interest in patient type can help you gain clarity on what career path aligns better with you.

Are you considering a healthcare career in a different field? Learn about non-clinical nursing roles, allied health jobs and public health jobs to see if these healthcare roles might inspire a new career move.

Final thoughts on which career path is harder

So, is midwifery hard or is nursing hard? Perhaps both may be true. The scope of practice, daily responsibilities and differences in patient type are some of the factors that play into the difficulty level of each role.

In most cases, midwives are autonomous in their role and can make clinical decisions that directly influence patient outcomes. They have the opportunity to build a relationship with expectant mothers, providing important continuity of care over a longer time period around their pregnancy and childbirth. The role can be dynamic and high-pressure and filled with potentially stressful situations, especially if the events regarding pregnancy or delivery don't go to plan. It’s also very rewarding as a unique healthcare career that involves supporting women on their motherhood journey.

The challenges in nursing lie in the broad range of skills required to meet the evolving needs of patients, from neonatal nursing to palliative care nursing. This field can be fast-paced and high-pressure with a greater emphasis on multi-team collaboration to support patient outcomes. Nurses can experience emotional stress from working with terminally ill patients or those who’ve experienced acute trauma. Nursing is also immensely rewarding, especially when patients make a full recovery and return to good health.

Remember, there’s no right or wrong choice when it comes to midwifery or nursing. You can always enter into nursing and pivot into midwifery later on, or vice versa, depending on your life stage, goals and interests. Both fields offer valuable learning experiences, exciting career growth potential and serve an essential purpose in supporting patients during vulnerable times.

Take the next step in your nursing or midwifery career

Both midwifery and nursing are high-demand healthcare fields with their own unique opportunities, rewards and challenges. How hard either profession is may depend on your personal interests, commitment to study and career goals.

Whether you’re attracted to the specialised area of midwifery to support expectant mothers and their babies or the variety and dynamic field of nursing, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to make a positive difference in the health and wellbeing of the patients in your care. Explore the range of nursing and midwifery courses from GlobalHealth Education’s university partners and other reputable Australian universities to embark on your new career.

GlobalHealth Education offers a range of healthcare courses in other fields, including social work, psychology, counselling, leadership and management, mental health and public health. Choose a course and enquire to speak with a Student Enrolment Advisor if you want to apply.