How did COVID-19 reshape midwifery students’ education?
Updated Mar 02, 2026
COVID-19midwiferyMidwifery students learn by doing, so COVID-19 disruption hit hard. Placements were compressed, core teaching moved online (see midwifery students’ views on remote learning), and operational gaps surfaced, even as students continued to rate staff support highly and treat placements as the anchor for learning.
Across the COVID-19 topic in NSS (National Student Survey) comments, the tone is strongly negative (68.6% negative; index −24.0). In midwifery, the overall mood is more positive (52.8% positive), but the student conversation concentrates on placements (17.8% of comments) with a near‑neutral tone (−0.8).
The priority is to protect real‑world experience and tighten delivery, assessment clarity, and wellbeing support. Student surveys and open-text NSS comment analysis show what is driving sentiment, helping programme teams adjust curricula, placements and support quickly enough to maintain readiness for professional registration and safe practice.
How did teaching and learning adapt?
Midwifery courses rely on in‑person interactions, so switching to remote delivery required rapid redesign. Teams introduced interactive platforms to simulate clinical scenarios and expanded virtual classrooms for real‑time engagement. This maintained continuity in teaching and assessment, but gaps in hands‑on practice remained a concern. The takeaway is simple: sequence modules so online components scaffold in‑person skill acquisition as soon as access returns, and communicate that pathway clearly.
How did clinical placements change, and what worked?
Clinical placements were cancelled or modified to meet infection control requirements, constraining direct patient contact and limiting opportunities to hone practical skills. Virtual simulations and case studies provided continuity, but they could not fully substitute for real‑life experience. Where programmes stabilised the placement journey through early allocations, a single source of truth for changes, and short, in‑situ feedback loops (see what makes midwifery placements work for students), students reported greater confidence that they were progressing towards competence. These operational moves reduce uncertainty and protect progression when placements are disrupted.
What happened to mental health and wellbeing?
Stress, anxiety and burnout risk rose as students navigated uncertainty around placements, assessments and future employment. Universities expanded online counselling and peer support (including the support services midwifery students say they need), and many students benefited from personal tutor outreach. The most effective approaches paired regular check‑ins with predictable communications and targeted signposting. Text analysis of student feedback surfaced specific pain points so teams could triage support swiftly, and intervene before problems escalated.
Did safety protocols hinder midwifery care?
Students valued the protection afforded by PPE and stringent infection control, recognising their centrality to safe practice. Some, however, felt these measures inhibited rapport and the empathic presence that characterise midwifery. Teaching now emphasises communication strategies that preserve person‑centred care within safety constraints, alongside supervised practice that builds confidence using PPE in sensitive clinical moments.
Which innovations should stay?
Virtual simulation, e‑learning and, in some cases, augmented reality can enrich preparation and decision‑making, particularly for complex scenarios. Used well, they complement supervised practice rather than replace it. Programmes strengthen assessment literacy with annotated exemplars, checklist‑style rubrics and predictable feedback turnarounds, so students understand expectations and can act on feedback between placement blocks.
What should future preparedness look like?
Programmes are formalising disruption‑ready delivery: a concise playbook for shifting teaching, assessment and access to resources; a single, live source of updates; and regular micro‑briefings that reduce uncertainty. Teams also capture practices from allied clinical disciplines that sustained continuity and apply them to midwifery, while working with placement partners to preserve structured work‑integrated rhythms during disruption.
What should educators take forward?
Protect the placement journey, tighten the operational rhythm of timetabling and communications, and make assessment expectations unmistakable. Sustain the student‑staff relationship that underpins confidence and wellbeing, and use student voice data to prioritise fixes that matter most for progression and professional readiness.
How Student Voice Analytics helps you
- Track COVID‑19 topic volume and sentiment over time, then compare midwifery with related disciplines across cohorts and sites.
- Pinpoint operational friction in placements (scheduling, organisation, communications, assessment), then brief programme and quality teams with concise, anonymised summaries.
- Evidence progress with sector comparisons and drill‑downs by cohort, campus and provider, exporting insights to dashboards and reports for governance and TEF (Teaching Excellence Framework) narratives.
- Surface representative comments that explain the “why” behind sentiment, helping placement partners and academic teams act on what students say matters most.
Explore Student Voice Analytics to track placement and wellbeing themes in midwifery feedback and see whether changes shift sentiment over time.
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Related Entries
- Do midwifery students get the support they need?
- Are midwifery students getting the delivery they need?
- Are midwifery placements delivering for students?
- Can midwifery students learn effectively through remote learning?
- NSS open-text analysis methodology for UK HE
- Sentiment analysis for UK universities: a practical guide