Midwives
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Job description
These individuals provide women with the care and services required during pregnancy, labour, and delivery. They also provide care and services during the first six weeks of the postnatal period. They work for:
- Birthing centres
- Hospitals
- Local community service centres (CLSCs)
- Midwifery care providers
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
- Biological agents
Main tasks
- Monitor and assess pregnancy, labour, delivery, and, during the first six weeks, the postnatal period.
- Apply preventive measures and screen for abnormal conditions in the woman or her child.
- Practise spontaneous childbirth.
- Perform amniotomies, episiotomies, and their repair, and repair lacerations of the perineum.
- Prescribe or administer medication.
- Prescribe, perform, or interpret examinations and tests.
- Advise and inform parents on various topics (role preparation, birth planning, preparation for childbirth, etc.).
- Advise and inform the public on perinatal health education.
- In case of emergency, perform the following procedures:
- Apply a suction cup.
- Practise breech delivery.
- Perform manual removal of the placenta followed by manual uterine revision.
- Perform resuscitation of the woman or baby.
Training and requirements
Formation
Most training programs are offered in French only.
University
Nursing
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 90.6%
5.8% of graduates pursue further studies
Master’s degree
Placement rate: 88.9%
7.2% of graduates pursue further studies
Perinatal Medicine
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 100%
Also required
- Membership in the Ordre des sages-femmes du Québec (OSFQ [Quebec Order of Midwives]).
Sometimes required
- Completion of the Advanced Neonatal Resuscitation (ANR) program is required.
- Training in obstetrical emergencies is required.
- Training in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may be required.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Data collection
- Judgment and decision-making
- Active listening
- Critical thought
- Oral expression
- Social perception
- Information processing
- Active learning
- Reading comprehension
- Result evaluation
- Service oriented
- Written expression
- Solving complex problems
- Coordination
- Learning strategies
- Teaching
- Time management
- System analysis
- Science
Abilities
- Written comprehension
- Oral comprehension
- Verbal skills
- Deductive reasoning
- Awareness of issues
- Inductive reasoning
- Speech clarity
- Written expression
- Speech recognition
- Near vision
- Information organization
- Selective attention
- Classification
- Digital dexterity
- Idea generation
- Originality
- Time sharing
- Perception speed
- Processing flexibility
- Hand-arm stability
Knowledge and attributes
- Capacity to establish and maintain interpersonal relations
- Autonomy
- Capacity to adapt
- Capacity to work in a team
- Rigour
- Tolerance to stress
- Respect standards and regulations
- Availability
- Capacity to facilitate a group
Interests
- Draft, communicate, and inform
- Assist and advise
- Teach or educate
- Assist or care for people
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Social
- People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
- Investigative
- People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
- Realistic
- People with this profile prefer carrying out concrete tasks and being physically involved in what they do.
Appellation d’emploi liée (à traduire)
Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals (CNP 31303)
Skill type
Health
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Last update: January 29, 2026