“At what cost? Exploring the financial circumstances of Victorian midwifery students: A population-based cross-sectional study”

BACKGROUND: The Australian midwifery workforce crisis is projected to worsen. One strategy is to increase numbers of midwifery graduates. With cost-of-living pressures, tertiary education may be unaffordable for many. We need to understand financial circumstances of students to target strategies to support and sustain the future midwifery workforce. AIM: To explore the financial circumstances of midwifery students in Victoria, Australia. METHODS: An online, population-based, cross-sectional survey conducted in 2021 was used to explore midwifery students' financial circumstances and the impact on course experience and requirements. FINDINGS: Five-hundred and five midwifery students contributed to the data. Most (81 %) were in paid employment. Over half (52 %) reported needing financial support from family or 'others', and around two-fifths (39 %) received government support. Most anticipated a debt of between $20,000 and $50,000 on course completion. Over half (51 %) stated that they often attended university classes and paid employment in the same day, and more than half (59 %) reported that they had attended clinical placement and employment in the same day. Two-thirds responded that work commitments adversely affected performance at university. Nearly one-quarter (22 %) reported that they had needed to resign or had been dismissed from employment due to midwifery course requirements. Many reported high levels of mental and physical stress due to financial pressure and balancing paid employment with course requirements. CONCLUSION: Victorian midwifery students experience high levels of financial stress and hardship with clinical placement costs creating major challenges. Identification of strategies to address midwifery student financial hardship is essential to sustaining the midwifery profession.