Virtual reality in midwifery education: A mixed methods study to assess learning and understanding

•Educational technology is changing the way people engage and interact with learning material.•Virtual reality is a novel and innovative educational tool.•Virtual reality learning environments help promote student's discovery and exploration of personal knowledge.•Virtual reality provides an opportunity to learn by doing, develop creativity, and increase understanding of invisible concepts.•Understanding of complex anatomical relationships is important for the development of clinical skills in midwifery education.•Midwifery programmes should utilise VRLEs as a learning tool for complex topics to support the mainstream curriculum.