am i being an old fool

58 is nothing! Only live once do what you want to do! My age wouldn’t stop me doing whatever I wanted to do and I’m much older than you, good luck x

I teach sociology and politics at GCSE, A level and also on Access courses. An Access course is for people wanting to return to education after a gap. There students get funding because they have no level 3 qualification. You do have qualification so you may not qualify for an access course. However the point I want to make is that, the age of students is from 19 to around late 5Os early 60s . Although I have and still do, get older student my oldest being 83 she just wanted to prove she could do it. (They dont all get funding) There is an access to social care / nursing, which helps students get ready to apply for nursing, midwifery and social work.
I would say go for it, there is a shortage of midwives. However beware that this are is very underfunded and universities don’t take many students each year, its very hard to get into. They like you do have experience in form of some kind of voluntary work. This shows a commitment and determination, you nust show that you know how demanding the job is. The dropout rate in university for midwifes is high than the average . This has led to universities tending to select older women from what I have noticed.
Also if you get an interview don’t mention babies (they hate it) the focus is on the mothers care. Good luck Go for it .

Go for it.
Someone said to me, "You'll still be living the days, weeks, months etc so you may as well use that time doing something you really want to do, instead of mourning what might have been"

Go for it! You must have thought carefully about it and yes I hear it's an exhausting job but the country is desperately short of midwives and provided you can cope with the stresses, new mums will benefit from your experience and maturity.

If by any chance it doesn't work out, as other people have said there are other allied and valuable roles you could do.

I agree. I’ve had a great career as nurse and midwife but it’s relentless now. I wouldn’t recommend it anymore

i would say take the negatives ,positives and the grey bits in mind.The stuff about the stress , physical nature of the job, i would think are important.Don't a lot of health workers retire at 60? Great to have goals , but i know ive had dreams which looking back thankfully i didn't follow. How tricky would it be to get a job at 58? Im a fan of the old pros and cons list! good luck .

Yes definitely ! Why not get in touch with the relevant organisation and find out all that it entailed ; do they have ongoing support for mature students, what it would involve etc. Then you will know exactly what you would be taking on. You sound like you could more than handle it. And I’m sure they will be delighted to have someone like you with life experience and also a life long passion for the job.
Go girl!

Go for it Considering state pension is around 68anyway I still work by choice in 70s. And nursing in demand!!

Never too late to change careers . Go for it

Getting accepted for a University place is the easy bit. You need to take off your pink glasses and do some proper research. Will you be able and willing to travel, work long shifts inc. nights regularly?

My neighbour retrained and qualified as a Midwife in her early 40’s and she struggled to find a suitable permanent job after qualifying. She did a few temporary positions but she’s now doing relatively low paid care work instead as her hours are more manageable.

I agree with the posters who says its never too late. I went to uni in my 40s and did several degrees, eventually becoming an academic. I had a 10 year career and continued to do research and consultancy even after retiring. I work for myself now but dont consider my qualifucations wasted.

The only consideration would be that employers are often very ageist towards older applicants. How is the market for midwives?

finns - thank you - in your situation I would definitely begin (so glad to hear that there is funding).
You sound as if you want to head for a full qualification and not one of the supporting roles. However anything you learn, and any experience you get will be useful. Should you decide you're biting off more than you can chew, you can take that into something like a doula / breastfeeding supporter or similar.
And yes, I well remember the days where you could just turn up and they welcomed you!
Good luck - and maybe you'll come back and update us!

Definitely go for it if you possibly can, you won’t know till you try. If it doesn’t work out at least you’ll know you gave it your best shot. Good luck!

Definitely go for it as soon as possible with as much help with funding as you can find.
When qualified you can work full time or part time or bank as you get older.
I went back into nursing at 58 and did further study. But studying was more difficult later. Couldn't remember the physiology.

Definitely go for it. There may be funding available, some of it non refundable. You'll only be 58 when you qualify - that's young to my way of thinking.

Good luck

I'm with those who advise caution.

I trained as a midwife relatively late and with many of the transferable skills you describe OP, but retired before my 60th birthday and never regretted it. Consider the cost of the university education it would require and whether it would make financial sense. Why not speak to someone at the university and ask also if you could speak to someone on the job about the reality of what you are considering. I loved being a midwife, resilient and highly motivated, but the system almost broke me.

nannarose
some great points there -
there is currently funding to encourage women entering STEM subjects (maths, science, engineering etc) and also a big funding incentive from the NHS as in bursaries and writing off course funds on completion of courses etc- the local college helps with the info before beginning courses and also helps with UCAS applications etc

i’m still a mum to a 12 year old so not quite pipe and slippers yet - oh and the mad dog 🐕

I think your right, to learn the new skills for the job must be slightly easier than having been in the role and had to re learn all the changes as you go - my elderly aunt was a nurse from the 1950s and couldn’t believe that you could no longer rock up at the hospital and just tell them you wanted to be a nurse and be put straight into nurses quarters !

there is still something ambitious and front line about me - and I may not make the midwifery cut as the top grades are expected from the cream of the crop - but I would still go for nursing in general

Go for it - you are young enough to realise your dreams. Good luck !

Go for it. You wouldn’t want to look back in a few years time and say I wish I’d done it. Wishing you good luck. You can do it.

I am a retired midwife & health visitor, and am with those who say 'think carefully'.
I dn't think your age is the slightest barrier to training, but you need to consider:
1. You don't mention funding, and you need to think about it.
2. Midwifery is mostly a physically demanding job.
3. Mental resilience - given your family experience, I think you are better placed than many to cope; and I have found that 'latecomers' to the NHS are sometimes better able to weather the difficulties than those of us whose whole working life has been bound up in it.

I do think that considering being a doula or breastfeeding supporter would be worthwhile, but I do get that it may not give you what you are looking for.
Considerng how long the process takes, I think you could just begin your application, which will, I think help you to make up your mind.

ladies you are all incredible ! amazing experiences and stories !

Just to touch on a few points generally raised about my experience and ideas ha ! I did start a placement many moons ago on the maternity ward and experienced a live birth ! but left before any c- section experience (never had a section myself) but went on to all of my own births - became a breast feeding peer supporter at the local children’s centre with the new mums (no matter what the feeding choices were) and also went into support female victims of crime with victim support: alongide my own female friends and family and their own experiences as a mum and a birthing partner. I have many friends in the NHS some without degrees who have worked to managerial positions and are in love with the roles and some who have left nursing disillusioned with the current NHS as it stands. i’ve had many salty old stories of how rubbish it all is and how could anyone cope in the current circumstances. But fundamentally if no one wants to support women at their most vulnerable (ie NHS shortages ) what is the answer ? don’t bother at all ?

I qualified as a Mental Health Nurse at the age of 53 and my only regret was I should have done it years ago. Absolutely go for it - wishing you the very best of luck

Far be it to rain on any one's parade but I sense that maybe you are looking at this dream through rose tinted glasses.
I am a registered nurse and have worked for the NHS continuously for 42 years.
Working within the NHS is incredibly stressful, short staffed and many other negatives. Will you be prepared for the long shifts and internal rotation, revalidation with the NMC and continual practice development, accountability when things go wrong and lack of support from management?
I work alongside a nurse who gave up her midwifery qualification, I believe she did so because of the amount of social problems she was encountering and lack of support.
Also after 60 your own health will start to suffer from the work load and stress. I am 61 and most of my colleagues are MUCH younger and more inclined towards IT work rather than actual hands on bedside nursing. I find I never have time off when I'm not worrying about an issue or problem at work
I do wish you well if you go for it but would urge you to consider your own health and well being first.

I’d say definitely go for it - I’m nearly 61 and am about to start a PhD at university in October. Never too old!

You must go for it , women will be lucky to have you!!