Across England's maternity wards, a quiet but accelerating departure is reshaping the future of birth itself. The youngest midwives — those who entered the profession most recently, trained under its current demands, and carry its institutional future — are leaving the NHS at rates nearly double the profession-wide average, driven not by indifference but by exhaustion. What the numbers reveal is a system that recruits with one hand and burns out with the other, leaving mothers and newborns in the care of units that grow thinner with each passing year.
NHS loses midwives to burnout as nearly 60% of young staff quit maternity roles
Mothers and babies receive care from understaffed maternity units, creating safety risks during childbirth as documented in recent major reviews.
Burnt-out within a few years of qualifying because every shift means too few colleagues
Mark
Why does it matter that young midwives are leaving faster than older ones?
Mimi
Because they're the future of the profession. If you lose them in their twenties and thirties, you lose decades of experience they could have accumulated. You also lose the energy and idealism they brought to the work.
Mark
But the government says there are more midwives working now than ever before.
Mimi
That's true in raw numbers. But it's like filling a bucket with a hole in the bottom. You can add water, but if people are leaving faster than you can replace them, you're not actually solving the problem—you're just spending more money to stay in the same place.
Mark
What's actually driving them out? Is it the pay?
Mimi
Pay is part of it, but the surveys suggest it's deeper. It's the missed breaks, the unpaid hours, the feeling that there aren't enough people to do the work safely. A pay rise doesn't fix that if you're still exhausted and worried about whether you're giving mothers and babies the care they deserve.
Mark
Nearly a quarter of students don't finish their degrees. Why would someone start and then quit?
Mimi
Because the training involves working in actual maternity units in years two and three. You're not just learning theory—you're living the reality of understaffed wards. If that reality is as difficult as the data suggests, some people decide it's not worth finishing.
Mark
What would actually keep them?
Mimi
The reviews and the union suggest it's not just money. It's protected time for training, genuine support as the work gets more complex, and enough colleagues on shift so you're not constantly running on empty. It's treating the job as sustainable, not as something you endure until you burn out.
The Pulse
- Over 1,600 midwives under 35 resigned from the NHS in a single year — a 59% surge compared to a decade ago — signalling not a trickle but a structural rupture in the workforce.
- Turnover among midwives in their early thirties has reached 16.6%, nearly double the profession-wide rate, suggesting the crisis deepens precisely as practitioners gain experience.
- Nearly one in four midwifery students abandons their degree before graduating, meaning the pipeline meant to replace departing staff is itself leaking at the source.
- Three-quarters of practicing midwives have considered quitting, citing understaffed shifts, missed breaks, and unpaid hours — conditions that major safety reviews have directly linked to harm for mothers and babies.
- The government points to record midwife numbers and new funding, but critics argue headcount alone cannot fix a culture of burnout that drives trained staff out faster than new ones can qualify.
Across England's maternity wards, a quiet but accelerating departure is reshaping the future of birth itself. The youngest midwives — those who entered the profession most recently, trained under its current demands, and carry its institutional future — are leaving the NHS at rates nearly double the profession-wide average, driven not by indifference but by exhaustion. What the numbers reveal is a system that recruits with one hand and burns out with the other, leaving mothers and newborns in the care of units that grow thinner with each passing year.
England's maternity units are losing their youngest midwives at an alarming pace. In 2025-26, more than half of all NHS midwife resignations — 1,669 people — came from those under 35, a 59 percent rise on the equivalent figure from a decade earlier. The breakdown is telling: turnover among midwives aged 25 to 29 stood at 14.6 percent, and among those aged 30 to 34 it reached 16.6 percent — rates nearly double the profession-wide average of around 10 percent.
The attrition begins even before qualification. Of the 3,565 students who began midwifery degrees in 2021, only 2,725 graduated three years later. Nearly one in four dropped out — many during the placement years when they work directly inside maternity units and encounter the full weight of the job's demands.
The Royal College of Midwives found that three-quarters of practicing midwives had considered leaving in the past year, overwhelmingly because of staffing levels and patient safety concerns. Deputy chief midwife Hannah Leonard described a familiar pattern: newly qualified midwives burn out within years, ground down by understaffed shifts, missed breaks, and hours worked without pay. Childbirth has grown more complex, and the pressure has grown with it.
Two major independent reviews — by Donna Ockenden and Valerie Amos — both named understaffing as a critical safety risk. The human cost lands on mothers and babies, who give birth on wards where the youngest, most recently trained staff are vanishing fastest.
The government highlights a record 25,500 full-time-equivalent midwives now in post, above-inflation pay rises, and £10 million to reduce student dropout rates. But critics, including the Liberal Democrats' health spokesperson Helen Morgan, argue the real problem is not recruitment numbers but working conditions. Without protected training, genuine professional development, and relief from relentless pressure, the cycle simply repeats: recruit, burn out, leave — and begin again.
England's maternity units are hemorrhaging their youngest midwives. During 2025-26, more than half of all midwives who resigned from the NHS—1,669 people—were under 35 years old. That's 57 percent of the 2,949 total departures across the health service that year. The number has accelerated sharply: a decade earlier, in 2014-15, only 1,051 midwives under 35 left the profession. The current figure represents a 59 percent increase, a trajectory that alarms those responsible for keeping maternity wards functioning.
The exodus breaks down into three age bands. Two hundred and five midwives under 25 departed, along with 655 between 25 and 29, and 809 between 30 and 34. What these numbers conceal is even more troubling: while roughly 10 percent of all midwives quit annually, the turnover among those aged 25 to 29 reached 14.6 percent in 2025-26, and among those 30 to 34 it hit 16.6 percent. Young midwives are leaving at rates nearly double the profession-wide average.
The problem begins before midwives even qualify. Of 3,565 students who started midwifery degrees in 2021, only 2,725 graduated in 2024. That means 840 students—nearly one in four—never finished their three-year course. Since midwifery training involves spending most of the second and third years working directly in maternity units, these dropouts represent not just lost potential but also a failure to retain people at the moment they're most exposed to the realities of the job.
Why are they leaving? The Royal College of Midwives conducted a survey showing that three-quarters of practicing midwives have considered quitting over the past year, primarily because of concerns about staffing levels and patient safety. Hannah Leonard, the union's deputy chief midwife, described the exodus of under-35s as deeply worrying. She pointed to a pattern: midwives burn out within a few years of qualifying because every shift means too few colleagues, missed breaks, and unpaid hours. The work itself has grown more demanding. Childbirth has become more complex, the risks more varied, and the pressure relentless.
Two major independent reviews of maternity care in England—one by Donna Ockenden, another by Valerie Amos—both identified understaffing as a critical threat to patient safety. The consequence falls directly on mothers and babies. They receive care from already-stretched maternity units where the youngest, most recently trained staff are disappearing fastest. Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrats' health spokesperson, framed it starkly: patients are paying the price, and mothers have no choice but to give birth on wards that are both understaffed and unsafe.
The government's response emphasizes growth. The Department of Health and Social Care points to a record 25,500 full-time-equivalent midwives now working in the NHS—2,000 more than when Labour took office in July 2024. The department has introduced new staff standards aimed at improving wellbeing and flexible working, alongside consecutive above-inflation pay rises. It recently opened 1,000 additional midwifery roles backed by £10 million to prevent student dropouts. Yet these recruitment efforts, however substantial, do not address why young midwives are leaving faster than new ones can be trained.
Morgan and others argue the issue is not simply headcount but conditions. Guaranteeing protected, year-round training and professional development—giving midwives genuine support as they navigate rising complexity and risk—might help them stay. Without that, the cycle continues: recruit, burn out, leave, recruit again. The maternity units keep running, but increasingly without the people who entered the profession to deliver babies and support mothers through one of life's most vulnerable moments.
Notable Quotes
Burnt-out within a few years of qualifying because every shift means too few colleagues, missed breaks and unpaid hours— Hannah Leonard, deputy chief midwife, Royal College of Midwives
Patients are paying the price, and mothers are left with no alternative but to give birth on understaffed and unsafe wards— Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrats health spokesperson
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