Attrition from midwifery programmes at a midwifery school in the English midlands 1939-1973: A historical study

This paper explores the features of attrition from a Midwifery Training programme in mid-twentieth century England.

The research uses an historical methodology to explore rates of attrition from a Midwifery Training School in the English Midlands between 1939 and 1973. It uses principally the record books of the Training School which gave details about pupils across the period. This evidence is contextualised through national written and oral archive material.

Mid-twentieth century England. The period was a time of significant change in the maternity services, at both a philosophical and organisational level with the creation of the National Health Service and a move towards institutional rather than community based maternity care. Midwifery pupils were regulated by the Central Midwives Board, the national body which governed midwifery, and sat national exams based on national syllabi.

Pupil midwives based at the Midwifery Training School whose records are being explored. These included pupils who were had nursing qualifications and those who did not.

Numbers of pupils entering training varied across the period in relation to external workforce factors. The greatest proportions of those in training were pupils who already held a nursing qualification, although numbers of untrained pupils rose across the period. Rates of attrition were particularly high within this group, but across all groups rates rose across the period.

The evidence suggests that despite the very different organisation of midwifery training and care across the period in comparison to contemporary practice, rates of attrition from training programmes appear remarkably consistent.