Overview
Job summary
Preterm birth (PTB) is defined as delivery at less than 37+0 weeks gestation and is a common complication of pregnancy comprising around 8% of births in England and Wales. It is the most important single determinant of adverse infant outcome with regards to survival and quality of life.
Babies born preterm have high rates of early, late, and post-neonatal mortality and morbidity and contribute to an estimated £3.4bn per year in costs to health services in England and Wales.
The Preterm Birth Midwife will work collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team and will play a key role in co-ordinating the care and support of women at increased risk of preterm labour, with suspected or confirmed preterm labour, or having a planned preterm birth (e.g., due to fetal growth restriction, pre-eclampsia or other clinical reasons). This role requires a weekly clinical commitment providing antenatal care in the antenatal clinic setting.
The Post holder will participate in local and regional networks, teaching, and research to improve education and implementation of the Preterm Birth pathway. They will work with the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) to co-design services to ensure pathways are supportive and equitable for women and families accessing maternity care at UHSussex.
Responsibilities
* Support women/pregnant/birthing people at increased risk of preterm birth throughout the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care continuum.
* Demonstrate strong clinical management and leadership skills within the Midwifery MDT and maternity service.
* Lead and develop services with the nominated preterm specialist multidisciplinary team to ensure consistency and continuity of care.
* Utilise current and ongoing research to continually develop local preterm birth pathways and progress service agendas related to reducing preterm birth.
* Utilise key reports such as Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle Version 3 and the Department of Health's Safer Maternity Care reports to inform clinical practice within UHSussex Maternity Services.
* Demonstrate compassionate, equitable care respecting equality and diversity, enabling women and families to be partners in their own care.
* Collaborate with the Bereavement team to support parents in adverse outcomes and arrange onward referrals as required.
* Participate in on-call rota as per service needs.
Qualifications and Skills
* Essential: Experienced registered midwife.
* Essential: Assessor/Mentorship course.
* Essential: Experience of working in preterm birth or a similar specialty.
* Desirable: Masters in Midwifery.
* Desirable: Leadership/management course.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
* Essential: Evidence of undertaking own development to improve understanding of equalities issues.
* Essential: Evidence of championing diversity in previous roles as appropriate to the role.
Details
Candidate Information Pack: information available from the employer.
Date posted: 09 October 2025
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £47,810 to £54,710 per annum, pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time or Job share
Reference number: 279-7491321-OCT25
Job locations: Royal Sussex County Hospital and some cross-site work required, Eastern Road, Brighton, BN2 5BE
Job description and responsibilities
Understand preterm pregnancy management options including the pros and cons of prophylactic vaginal progesterone or cervical cerclage procedures, services and support.
Be responsible for the management of individualized care to a defined group of mothers and babies using the assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating process within a multidisciplinary framework.
Facilitate midwife-led clinics, in person, telephone and online as appropriate to enable collaborative multidisciplinary communication in clinical decision making and care planning.
Communicate confidently with professionals at all levels in Primary, Secondary and Tertiary care settings.
Ability to handle challenging conversations or delivering unwelcome but informative and compassionate news.
Act as an advocate for women, ensuring informed consent and encouraging partnership in care, supporting informed decisions that best suit them.
Willing to be a non-medical prescriber and/or work within predefined Midwifery patient group directives (PGDs) and have knowledge of drug regimens and side effects.
Participate in multidisciplinary discussions relating to neonatal care of preterm babies, including location of care and explanation of potential complications.
Support discussions about ongoing treatment and resuscitation wishes, including tours of the neonatal unit and discussions with a consultant neonatologist.
Be responsible for data collection, audit and evaluation of the service, ensuring compliance with governance and reporting mechanisms.
Collaborate with neonates as part of an MDT to review and audit preterm births against KPIs, feed back learning and create action plans, and support PERIPrem passport implementation.
This role may be eligible for visa sponsorship under the UKVI Skilled Worker route, subject to requirements including skill and salary thresholds.
Employer details
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (279)
Address: Royal Sussex County Hospital, Eastern Road, Brighton, BN2 5BE
Employer website: University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
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