Is midwifery care work?

Yes, the profession of midwifery involves a high degree of care work. Midwives look after the physical and mental health of pregnant women, women in labor, and new mothers, thus providing important care. 

Care work encompasses all activities that serve to care for others, such as nursing, raising children, or providing support in everyday life. A distinction is made between paid and unpaid care work. While paid care work takes place in professions such as nursing, childcare, or midwifery and is financially remunerated, unpaid care work usually remains in the private sphere—for example, in the form of raising children, caring for the elderly within the family, or helping neighbors. Both forms are essential for social coexistence, yet they often receive very different levels of social appreciation and recognition.

Are there also statistics on how many hours of care work we do (unpaid)?

Here are the facts:

On average, women worldwide perform about 3–4 hours of unpaid care work per day. Extrapolated over a lifetime (approximately 80 years), this translates to about 10–14 years of unpaid care work alone!

And “paid” care work?

Overtime is extremely common due to staff shortages. Nurses often step in and cover additional shifts.

Studies show that approximately 30–40% of overtime hours are unpaid or compensated. Many nurses work up to 10 hours of overtime per month without being paid.

Studies show that freelance midwives often earn only €7–15 per hour for a birth , when everything is added up — for a highly responsible job.

Many employed midwives report that they regularly perform unpaid overtime.  

In the delivery room:

End of shift after 8 hours?  

Often impossible when labor is still in progress.

Midwives are often expected to stay longer "out of professional ethics".

Overtime is not always recorded correctly or later compensated with time off (instead of money).

A midwife employed in the clinic earns approximately €2,800 – €3,500 gross per month (depending on experience and collective agreement).

After deductions, often only around €1,800 – €2,300 net remains.

This is far too little for night shifts, holiday shifts, mental stress and overtime