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Background: Midwives play a crucial role in maternal and child health, making their education essential. In Bangladesh, improvements in midwifery education have not corresponded with expected reductions in maternal mortality rates. Identifying perceptions and gaps in clinical preparation is vital for advancing midwifery practices and improving healthcare outcomes.

Aim: This study describes the midwifery educators' experiences of how they prepare midwifery students for clinical midwifery practice in Bangladesh.

Method and Design: A phenomenographic approach was used to assess variations in midwifery educators’ experiences about current midwifery education in Bangladesh with focus on how midwifery educators prepare midwifery students for clinical midwifery practice. Data were collected from four focus groups of midwifery educators in Bangladesh.

Result: Four key categories emerged: (1) Pedagogical approaches and assessment strategies in clinical midwifery education, (2) Educator's strategies for student preparation for clinical midwifery practice, (3) Strategies for motivating and supporting midwifery students in clinical practice and (4) Challenges in preparing midwifery students for clinical practice: authority, acceptance and knowledge gaps.

Conclusion: Findings highlight that midwifery educators in theory and practice use the observational learning strategy. Further investigation is needed to determine if this method is effective or if it should be complemented with hands-on clinical practice.