INTRODUCTION: There is a growing concern about shortages of midwives. While limited research found motivational factors for staying in the profession, it remains unclear how these factors differ by experience level or work setting. This study aims to determine the proportion of midwives at two levels of professional experience working in community and hospital settings in the Netherlands who intend to stay in the profession, to explore their reasons why, and to identify associated factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted among 984 midwives working in community or hospital settings. Participants were grouped by years of experience (≤15 and >15 years). Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were conducted. FINDINGS: Seventy-one percent (n = 542) of community midwives and sixty-eight percent (n = 148) of hospital midwives intended to stay in the profession, and this intention did not differ significantly between experience groups. Reasons for this intention included passion for midwifery, job satisfaction and job variety. Community midwives emphasised autonomy and working with women, whereas hospital midwives highlighted collaboration with colleagues. Across experience levels, intention to stay factors included alignment with midwifery ideology, a positive work-life balance, and psychological resources. DISCUSSION: Professional relationships, autonomy, and psychological resources (optimism and hope) varied by setting and experience level and should guide the design and organisation of maternity care. CONCLUSION: Seventy percent of Dutch midwives intend to stay in the profession, driven by passion, professional values, and work-life balance, with setting-specific differences in the importance of autonomy, relationships with women and teamwork.
Vereecken-Schoo et al. (Mon,) studied this question.