Maternity support worker

Career path and progression

With experience you could become a senior support worker.

You could also train to become an assistant practitioner, nursing associate, midwife or nurse.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

• knowledge of health and medicine for newborn babies
• customer service skills
• sensitivity and understanding
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• thinking and reasoning skills
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• the ability to use your initiative
• to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

• pass enhanced background checks as you may work with children and vulnerable adults

Related subjects

Most relevant

• Biology - Maternity support workers need to understand how the human body works, particularly pregnancy, childbirth, and newborn development. They carry out routine checks like taking blood pressure and temperature, which requires knowledge of how the body functions and what normal readings look like.
• Psychology - Maternity support workers support families through one of the most emotional experiences of their lives, including labour, birth, and early parenthood. Understanding how people respond to stress, anxiety, and major life changes helps them provide sensitive and effective emotional support.

Also relevant

• Food Preparation and Nutrition - Maternity support workers may advise new mothers on infant feeding, including breastfeeding support and nutrition during pregnancy and after birth. Understanding the basics of nutrition helps them support the health of both mother and baby.
• Sociology - Maternity support workers care for families from a wide range of cultural, social, and economic backgrounds. Understanding how factors like poverty, family structure, and cultural expectations affect health and parenting helps them provide more thoughtful, person-centred care.
• Physical Education - Maternity support workers may help with parenting classes that include guidance on physical wellbeing during and after pregnancy. Understanding how the body responds to physical activity and recovery is useful when supporting mothers through the physical demands of childbirth.
• English Language - Maternity support workers keep detailed patient records, report concerns to midwives and nurses, and communicate clearly with families who may be anxious or confused. Being able to write accurately and explain things in a reassuring, straightforward way is important in this role.
• Mathematics - Maternity support workers collect statistics, record measurements like blood pressure and temperature, and may need to calculate basic figures as part of routine monitoring. Confidence with numbers helps ensure accuracy in these everyday clinical tasks.