The Midwife Pay & Salary Guide

Updated 9th March 2026

• This article was originally published on 3rd December 2025, and last updated 9th March 2026
• All figures represent the 3.3% increase set for April 1st 2026

Midwives in the UK today are as valued in society as they ever have been.

They remain in high demand, with vacancy rates in the NHS still stubbornly high.

That makes midwifery a very solid career choice with job opportunities in every corner of the country, both in the public and private sector.

But how much do midwives earn?

What are the long-term salary prospects?

And what can midwives do to increase their earnings?

This salary guide will answer these questions and many more besides.

What is the average salary for a midwife?

The average salary for a midwife is approximately £39,000 to £42,000 a year.

However, this range is intended only as a guide, based on a number of different industry statistics.

The majority of midwives operate in the NHS, and although the starting salary for a midwife in the NHS is considerably lower than the range above, most NHS midwives have many years of experience.

Indeed, around a third of UK midwives are aged 50 or above (according to the most recent Government report).

As a result, it’s safe to assume that the average UK midwife is operating at a pay banding much higher than that of a newly qualified midwife.

In the private sector, the average midwife salary seems to also be somewhere around the £39,000 mark – but private salaries are even harder to pinpoint.

What does a midwife do to earn this salary?

Midwives have a truly extraordinary job.

They help expectant mothers through the various challenges of pregnancy, and then deliver babies into the world.

It’s a complex and varied role – and on any given day, the responsibilities may include:

• Monitoring and examining women during pregnancy
• Developing care plans
• Running screening tests in hospitals or the community
• Identifying high risk pregnancies and making relevant referrals
• Providing parenting and health education
• Offering counselling and support
• Supervising and assisting labour
• Applying knowledge of drugs and pain management during labour
• Offering support and advice following stillbirths, miscarriage, termination and other complications
• Liaising with agencies in the community to provide continuity of care
• Offering support and advice on caring for the baby, including breastfeeding and bathing It’s a 24/7 role, so these duties will normally be carried out on a shift basis that can include evenings and weekends.

How does this role differ between the NHS and the private sector?

The most important difference between working in the NHS and working privately is the fact that an NHS hospital or service will almost always be busier than a private location.

After all, only a relatively small number of people can afford to pay to have their baby delivered in a private hospital.

As a result, it’s likely that a midwifery shift in the NHS will involve more patients, and potentially, more stress.

However, it’s also broadly agreed that working in the NHS offers better job security, better benefits and more transparent pay.

For the most part this is all true, but every role must be taken on its merit and carefully assessed.

Not all private employers are the same, and many offer excellent pay and benefits along with pleasant working conditions.

How is pay determined in the NHS how much does an NHS midwife get paid?

NHS salaries are regulated within a transparent banding system.

Once fully qualified, midwives start their working lives at Band 5.

Currently, that means a starting salary of £32,073.

Within each banding, incremental annual increases are on offer.

In Band 5, for example, it’s possible for a salary to rise through increments to £39,043.

With enough experience and new skills you can apply for roles in higher bandings.

Band 6 roles start at £39,959 while more specialist Band 7 roles start beyond 49,300 a year, and can rise to £56,515 with enough experience.

How is pay determined in the private sector and how much does a midwife get paid?

In the private sector, salaries of course aren’t regulated.

The average salary, as mentioned, is around £39,000 to £42,000, and broadly speaking pay is in line with NHS salaries.

Anecdotally, pay for midwives in private hospitals can be slightly higher, but the benefits package is rarely as good as the one offered within the NHS.

It’s also worth noting that pay for private positions is far more flexible and negotiable.

As a result, what you can earn will be largely driven by how qualified you are.

What does the future look like for midwife pay?

Labour shortages in the midwifery sector haven’t been quite as drastic as those among nurses, doctors and certain other healthcare professionals.

At the end of 2022 the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) estimated that the NHS in England needs around 2,000–2,500 additional midwives to staff services safely.

This shortage has been widely discussed in Parliament and by workforce analysts because maternity units often struggle to maintain safe staffing levels.

Further, the RCM, in 2024, said midwives were working around 100,000 hours of unpaid overtime each week to keep services running.

Recent pay rises only go some way to correcting insufficient rises in previous years - and the cost of living crisis means they still feel insufficient for many midwives.

How to get a pay rise as a midwife

The key to increasing your earnings as a midwife is to increase your skills, experience and qualifications.

The Royal College of Midwives lists a wide array of courses available to midwives throughout their career, all of which can help to refine skills and add qualifications to your CV.

You can also undertake a master’s degree part-time, for which you may be able to get sponsorship from your employer.

You may also be able to boost your earnings by becoming more specialised.

You could focus your expertise within antenatal screening, breastfeeding advice or ultrasound, for example.

It’s also worth growing your professional network at every opportunity.

That could come from moving into different roles or even just doing some bank or agency shifts at a different location.

But it also could come from attending professional conferences or workshops.

What is the career progression for a Midwife?

There are lots of options when it comes to taking your next steps as a midwife.

As well as a senior midwife, you could become a ward manager or team leader.

With enough experience and training it’s also possible to become a director of midwifery or a Midwifery consultant.

In these roles, you would start to influence how entire wards and practices operate.

It’s also common to retrain as a health visitor or neonatal nurse, or equally to move into education by focusing on research or teaching.