The participants described several sources of stress during their clinical placement that could be grouped in challenges arising from the acquisition of clinical skills, physical and human environment. Because of the complexity and challenge, stress is an indispensable part of midwifery clinical education.37 Many participants of Sidebotham’s33 study considered the nature of the clinical midwifery is setting hard and stressful. Students in Lave’s39 study described their first encounter with the maternity wards hard and felt vulnerable, despite having nursing experience before entering the midwifery training.