Midwifery Ethics & Professional Values

Built on trust, informed choice, dignity, safety and professional accountability.

Being a midwife is an enormous privilege.

You are inviting me into one of the most personal and significant times in your life. You may share your hopes, worries, previous experiences, family life, beliefs and some incredibly vulnerable moments with me.

I never take that trust for granted.

My approach to midwifery is warm, holistic, nurturing and deeply woman-centred, but underneath that warmth sit strong professional values.

Your dignity, autonomy, safety and right to make informed decisions about your own care are incredibly important to me.

For me, good midwifery is about combining compassion with competence, choice with safety, and a trusting relationship with professional accountability.

Working in Partnership With You

I believe the best care happens when we work together.

I bring my professional knowledge, clinical experience and evidence. You bring something equally valuable, yourself.

You know your body, your experiences, your family, your beliefs, what makes you feel safe and what matters most to you.

My role isn't to take over your pregnancy or make decisions for you.

It's to walk alongside you.

Prioritising You

You are never simply an appointment in my diary, a set of observations or a pregnancy in front of me.

You are a person first.

I want to understand what is important to you and make sure your individual needs, preferences and circumstances remain at the centre of the care I provide.

Being clinically safe matters enormously, but so does how you feel while receiving that care.

Your Choices Are Yours

Your body belongs to you.

Your pregnancy does not remove your autonomy, and becoming my client doesn't mean handing your decision-making over to me.

I will offer my professional opinion and be honest when I have concerns, but ultimately I want you to feel able to make decisions about your care from a place of knowledge, confidence and genuine choice.

Informed Choice & Consent

I don't want you simply to be told what is going to happen.

I want you to understand why something is being suggested.

We can talk about your options, the potential benefits and risks, alternatives that may be available and what those different choices could mean for you.

You should have space to ask questions, think and be involved.

Informed consent is a conversation, not simply a tick in a box.

Freedom From Pressure or Coercion

Being offered a choice and feeling free to make that choice are not always the same thing.

I believe informed decision-making should be free from pressure and coercion.

My role is not to frighten, persuade or push you towards any decision

My responsibility is to make sure you have clear, honest and evidence-informed information, answer your questions and help you understand your options.

Then I respect that the decision belongs to you.

Advocacy & Keeping Your Voice at the Centre

One of the beautiful things about continuity of care is that I get to know you.

I know the conversations we've had, what matters to you and the decisions you've made along the way.

If your care becomes more complex or other professionals become involved, I can support you in asking questions, understanding what is being recommended and making sure your wishes remain part of the conversation.

Advocacy doesn't mean ignoring clinical concerns or risk.

It means helping you remain heard, informed and involved, even if circumstances change.

Your Dignity Matters

Pregnancy, labour, birth and the postnatal period can bring some incredibly intimate and vulnerable moments.

I will always try to protect your privacy, dignity and sense of self throughout your care.

Something being routine for a midwife doesn't automatically make it routine for the woman experiencing it.

I never want to forget that.

Compassionate, Woman-Centred Care

Sometimes good care is clinical knowledge.

Sometimes it's noticing that you're worried even though you haven't said anything.

Sometimes it's taking another ten minutes because you need to talk.

Sometimes it's listening.

Sometimes it's simply kindness.

I believe you can provide safe, professional, evidence-informed midwifery while still being kind, compassionate and nurturing.

The two should never be mutually exclusive.

Confidentiality & Trust

The relationship between a woman and her midwife can involve incredibly personal conversations.

I treat the information you share with me confidentially, sensitively and respectfully, while being open about the circumstances in which information may need to be shared for professional, safeguarding or legal reasons.

Trust isn't something I expect simply because I'm your midwife.

It's something I hope to earn.

Looking at the Whole You

Holistic midwifery means looking beyond a checklist.

Your physical wellbeing matters, but so can your emotional wellbeing, previous experiences, relationships, family circumstances, culture, faith, social situation, fears and hopes.

All of those things can influence how you experience pregnancy, birth and becoming a parent.

I want to care for the whole woman in front of me.

Care Without Discrimination

Every woman deserves to be treated with kindness, dignity and respect.

Your background, family, circumstances, beliefs or choices should never determine whether you deserve compassionate care.

My responsibility is to provide care without discrimination and to recognise you as an individual.

Respecting Cultural, Social, Emotional & Spiritual Needs

The things that make you feel safe and respected may not be the same as the next woman I care for.

Your culture, faith, family traditions, emotional needs and spiritual beliefs can be incredibly important during pregnancy and birth.

I want there to be space for those things within your care.

Individualised care means I adapt to you, I don't expect you to adapt to me.

Continuity Really Matters

Continuity of care is at the heart of my independent midwifery practice.

When I know you over time, I understand more than your medical history.

I learn what's important to you, what worries you, how you communicate, what makes you feel reassured and what kind of support you need from me.

That relationship can make care feel safer, calmer, more personal and genuinely nurturing.

Transparent Conversations About Risk

Risk should never be used simply as a frightening word.

If there is something I'm concerned about, I will explain it to you as clearly as I can.

We'll talk about what the concern is, why it matters, what is known, what may be uncertain, what I recommend and what options are available to you.

Being transparent about risk allows you to participate meaningfully in decisions about your own care.

Safety Alongside Choice

Respecting your autonomy doesn't mean that I will stay silent when I'm worried.

If I believe something may affect your safety or your baby's safety, I will tell you honestly.

I will explain my concerns and what I recommend while continuing to treat you with dignity and respect.

Supporting choice and preserving safety are not opposing principles.

Good midwifery holds space for both.

Practising Effectively

You deserve a midwife whose care is thoughtful, organised, evidence-informed and professionally responsible.

I maintain my knowledge and skills, communicate clearly, keep appropriate records and reflect on my practice.

The warm and nurturing side of my care is incredibly important to me, but behind it must always sit competent, effective professional practice.

Working Within My Clinical Competence

Being an experienced midwife doesn't mean pretending I can or should manage everything myself.

I work within my clinical competence and recognise when something requires knowledge,

assessment or treatment beyond what I can safely provide.

Knowing when to involve somebody else isn't a weakness.

It's part of being a safe midwife.

Knowing My Scope of Practice

As an independent midwife, I believe in being transparent about my scope of practice.

You should understand the care I can provide, what sits outside that scope and what would happen if your needs changed.

If something requires additional expertise or services, I will discuss that openly with you.

Referring & Escalating When Needed

Independent midwifery doesn't mean working in isolation.

There may be times when I recommend involving another healthcare professional, specialist service or NHS maternity team.

If that happens, I'll explain why I believe a referral or escalation is appropriate and help you understand what happens next.

Continuity means I can remain a familiar and supportive person while other professionals become involved, if needed.

Raising Safety Concerns

If I have concerns about your wellbeing, your baby's wellbeing or the safety of the care being provided, I have a professional responsibility to act.

That may mean having a difficult conversation, seeking another professional opinion, making a referral or escalating a concern.

I would rather have an honest conversation with you than avoid one because it feels uncomfortable.

Your safety matters too much for that.

If NHS or Emergency Care Is Needed

Choosing an independent midwife doesn't mean stepping away from NHS or emergency services.

Sometimes those services may be exactly what you need.

If NHS assessment, specialist care or emergency transfer becomes necessary, I will explain what is happening as clearly as possible and support the appropriate escalation.

A change in where your care is happening doesn't change who you are or what matters to you.

Professional Accountability

I am professionally accountable for the care I provide.

That means taking responsibility for my decisions and actions, practising safely, maintaining my competence, documenting appropriately, recognising my limitations and seeking additional expertise when necessary.

For me, professional accountability and deeply compassionate care belong together.

You deserve both.

Professionalism & Trust

Being invited to care for you comes with responsibility.

I want you to feel able to trust my knowledge and clinical judgement, but also trust that I'll be honest when I don't know something, when I need another opinion or when circumstances require a different approach.

Professionalism isn't about being distant.

To me, it's about being reliable, respectful, honest, accountable and worthy of the trust you place in me.

If I Don't Know, I Will Find Out

I will never pretend to know something simply because I think a midwife should have every answer immediately.

If I don't know, I'll tell you.

I can seek advice, speak with colleagues, review evidence or refer to someone with the appropriate expertise.

Sometimes the most professionally responsible words a healthcare professional can say are:

“I don't know, but I'll find out.”

Openness, Honesty & Duty of Candour

I believe you deserve openness from the person caring for you, particularly when things don't go as expected.

If something happens in relation to your care that you need to know about, I will communicate with you honestly and fulfil my professional responsibilities, including my duty of candour where applicable.

Trust is strengthened by honesty, not by pretending everything is always perfect.

Transparency About My Care & Fees

Transparency also applies to the practical side of independent midwifery.

I want you to understand what you are booking, what your care includes, my fees, my availability and any limitations of the service.

You should also understand how escalation works and what would happen if NHS or emergency care became necessary.

Nurturing, Holistic Midwifery

I can talk about accountability, clinical competence, scope of practice, risk and professional responsibility and still be the midwife who sits beside you, listens, gives you a hug when appropriate, checks in afterwards and genuinely cares about how you're doing.

That's important to me.

My approach is holistic, nurturing, individualised and relationship-based because pregnancy and birth aren't purely clinical events.

There is a person and often a whole family experiencing them.

What My Ethics Mean for You

Ultimately, I don't want my professional values to be words sitting on a website.

I want you to feel them in the care you receive.

I want you to feel listened to.

Respected.

Safe to ask questions.

Free to make choices.

Able to disagree.

Comfortable telling me what matters to you.

Confident that your information will be treated with care.

Reassured that I know my professional boundaries.

And secure in the knowledge that if I'm worried, I'll be honest with you.

I want us to build a relationship based on kindness, trust, transparency and mutual respect, where you remain at the centre of your care and I remain beside you as your midwife.

For me, that's what ethical, woman-centred midwifery should feel like.

If you are considering independent midwifery care, get in touch and we can have a chat about how I can support your pregnancy.