Julia Reissmann is one of the most interesting people I talked to for this book. To be a perinatal counsellor employed by the NHS you need to be registered with a regulatory body and have experience, and to some extent, be in the right place at the right time. Trainee counsellors also need to participate in therapy themselves and that’s an extra cost you’d need to pay for. Having an MA puts you in a better position for jobs. It’s quite the commitment but it sounds like an incredible career.

Emma is a midwife who mentored me during my return to practice period. She’s been qualified for 6 years and is currently 8 months into her first specialist role, which is as a bereavement lead.

Meet Benash Nazmeen an Ex Specialist Cultural Liaison Midwife and soon to be Midwifery Educator

I wanted to interview Carinna because she has built a very successful career at a young age. She was a labour ward coordinator and then a midwifery lecturer within 5 years of qualification. Aspiring and student midwives sometimes think if they didn’t do midwifery straight out of school then they don’t have a decent shot at a high level career. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Kelly Williams is a terrific midwife who has worked in termination of pregnancy services and many other interesting and worthy places. She’s currently working on her doctorate. This interview talks about some very difficult termination pregnancy issues and other hard aspects of health and social care jobs, just so you’re aware.

Nabila Fowles-Gutierrez is one of those people who seems to be able to do anything. A direct-entry midwife who qualified in 2006, Nabila also has a business that she runs alongside being a practising midwife. She has more recently started working for Public Health England as a research worker. Nabila is a great example of a midwife who uses her skills to build ‘patchwork’ career which makes an immense difference for clients, families and healthcare workers alike.

Shannon McGill-Randall is a Band 7 Infant Feeding Coordinator and part-time community midwife. At the time of writing, she is 3 years into being qualified. I love Shannon’s ability to use midwifery to live the way she wants to, it’s impressive and heartening.

After a rough few weeks, Olivia discovered a few things: a) there’s hardly any information out there for people who are taking some time out from a midwifery degree (hence this blog),  b) after feeling horribly alone for a while, she found quite a few others who are in the same position, and c) having a mandatory break from midwifery is actually the best thing that could have happened.

I’ve meant to put this post together for at least the last 6 years. Here’s some tips of writing a successful job application as a band 5 midwife, even if you’re a busy student student who’s soon to be newly qualified.