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Academies for midwifery
Academies for midwifery (Hebammenakademien) provide vocational education and training and entitle their graduates to work as midwives (Hebamme) (completion: diploma examination). After the secondary school leaving examination ( Reifeprüfung), the programme takes three years and is offered at seven sites in Austria.
> Access
- age of 18 years
- medical fitness
- good character and standinga
- school-leaving certificate ( Reifeprüfungszeugnis) issued by an academic secondary school or a school-leaving certificate or diploma issued by a vocational secondary school or nursery teacher training college or college of social pedagogy or a vocational matriculation examination certificate ( Berufsreifeprüfungszeugnis) or an equivalent foreign certificate recognised in Austria or a diploma in nursing ( Diplom im gehobenen Dienst für Gesundheits- und Krankenpflege) or university entrance examination ( Studienberechtigungsprüfung) for medical studies
- a board decides on admission
> Programme
Theoretical instruction/subjects: midwifery (professional and general ethics, cultural comparisons, emergency baptism); bacteriology, virology, parasitology; nursing techniques; morphology (anatomy, embryology and physiology); basic general pathology; biophysics, biochemistry, radiology; dietetics and nutrition with particular reference to nutrition during pregnancy, childbirth and breast feeding; psychology; first aid; basic pharmacology and introduction to special pharmacology; basic social work; basic health, labour and social security legislation (including legal protection of mother and infant); hygiene, health promotion, preventive medicine and social medicine; medical English; IT, documentation and scientific working methods; hospital organisation; paediatrics (with particular reference to new-born infants); obstetrics; gynaecology; obstetrical pathology; knowledge and use of instruments and technical equipment (with particular reference to didactics); sociology; preparation for parenthood, preparation for delivery and family counselling; postnatal exercises; care of new-born and young babies; sex education and family planning.
Practical training: delivery room, puerperium ward, infant room, neonatology, prenatal ward, obstetric and gynaecological out-patient departments, post-operative ward, operating theatre, preparation for delivery and postnatal exercises.
> Job description / field of activities
Advice, supervision and care of pregnant women, women in labour and lying-in women, delivery assistance, co-operation in maternity and infant care.
In their work, midwives have to perform autonomously, in particular, the following tasks:
providing information on basic methods of family planning
confirming pregnancies, monitoring normal pregnancies and performing the examinations required to monitor normal pregnancies
arranging examinations required for the earliest possible detection of abnormal pregnancy or providing information on such examinations
preparation for parenthood, comprehensive preparation for childbirth, including advice on hygiene and nutrition issues
assisting women in labour and monitoring the foetus in the womb using suitable clinical and technical means spontaneous deliveries, including support of the perineum and, in the case of urgency, breech deliveries and, if necessary, performance of episiotomy
recognising signs of anomalies in the mother or child requiring consultation of a doctor or medical interventions, as well as assisting during any medical measures; in the absence of a doctor, taking the required measures, in particular manual removal of the placenta and, if applicable, subsequent manual examination of the uterus
evaluating the vital signs and functions of new-born babies, initiating and performing the measures and providing the assistance required in emergencies, taking immediate measures to resuscitate new-born babies
care of new-born babies, taking blood from new-born babies by heel prick and performing the required measurements
care of lying-in women, monitoring mothers after delivery and providing appropriate advice on the optimum care of the new-born baby
carrying out the measures
stipulated by a doctor
> Career
Midwives may work as self-employed persons or may be employed by hospitals, institutions of prenatal and postnatal care and/or by medical practitioners.
> Further opportunities for education and training
Following the basic programme, some higher education institutions offer specialised courses for teaching and managerial tasks.
Furthermore, there are the following training opportunities for midwives:
- university courses
- short programme for paediatric nurses
- university studies (e.g. medicine)
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