Rags, that is awful of the woman's husband! And what a cowardly way for him to leave her.
KN - I do get why they wanted experience. It was quite an autonomous role, really, and to be fair, if I was the patient, I would want a midwife with a little bit of experience looking after me. Still, it was good interview practice. Here in the UK, regardless of how the baby is conceived, if the parents are not married, the dad must attend the birth registration to go on the birth certificate, unless they have a special form (I guess for something like serving soldiers on overseas tours), otherwise nothing is entered for the father's details. If they are married, then the mum can record the dad's name without him being there.
KN - I do get why they wanted experience. It was quite an autonomous role, really, and to be fair, if I was the patient, I would want a midwife with a little bit of experience looking after me. Still, it was good interview practice. Here in the UK, regardless of how the baby is conceived, if the parents are not married, the dad must attend the birth registration to go on the birth certificate, unless they have a special form (I guess for something like serving soldiers on overseas tours), otherwise nothing is entered for the father's details. If they are married, then the mum can record the dad's name without him being there.