Scotland Maternity & Midwifery Festival 2026
Wednesday 25 November 2026
Murrayfield Stadium, Roseburn St, Edinburgh EH12 5PJ
08.30
Visit the exhibition and enter the competition
09.00 – 09.25: Skills Workshop
Crafting for wellbeing
Knitting and crochet for all with midwife, experienced HE teacher and lifelong crafter, Amanda Hutcherson
Wool and needles supplied
09.00 – 09.25: Skills Workshop
Writing for publication
Dr Jenny Hall, Editor, MATFLIX and Maternity & Midwifery Forum newsletter; former Editor, The Practising Midwife
9.30
Chair’s opening remarks
Sue Macdonald, Maternity and Midwifery Festival Programme Curator and Editor, Mayes Midwifery
9.40
Keynote address
Plenary speakers will be announced shortly
10.00
Birth wars: the battle for humanised care
Leah Hazard, Midwife, Author, Activist
10.20
Plenary speakers will be announced shortly
10.45
Q&A
10.55 – 11.40
BREAK, NETWORKING AND EXHIBITION VIEWING
11.00 – 11.15
MEET THE EXPERT – All4Maternity
With Sheena Byrom OBE, Co-Director, All4Maternity
11.20 – 35
MEET THE EXPERT
Plenary speakers will be announced shortly
11.40
The power of women and midwives working together
Ruth Weston Birth Activist, Speaker, Author of Born Stroppy: Make Change Happen
12.00
Pathways, pillars, potential and practice?
Jaki Lambert, Country Director, Royal College of Midwives, Keya Smith, Clinical Education Midwife, The Podium, Phase 2, Victoria Hospital and Susanne Morrison, Midwifery Lecturer, University of the West of Scotland
12.25
Q&A
12.35
NORTHERN MIDWIFERY & MATERNITY TRAILBLAZER AWARDS
12.50 – 14.00
LUNCH, MEET THE EXPERT TALK, NETWORKING AND EXHIBITION VIEWING
13.15 – 13.30
MEET THE EXPERT – Making the move to digital – maternity resources for universities and trusts
Sheena Byrom OBE, Co-Director, All4Maternity and Neil Stewart, Editorial Director, MATFLIX/
Maternity & Midwifery Forum
13.30 – 13.45
MEET THE EXPERT
Plenary speakers will be announced shortly
14.00 – 15.05
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
STREAM A: President 1
STREAM B: President 2
STREAM C: Moncrieff
Questions from the audience follow each presentation
14.00 – 14.30
A1: Cultural change
Achieving cultural change in maternity
Maggie O’Brien, Consultant, Tall Poppy Maternity
B1/B2: Midwifery Education Focus (60 mins)
An hour long exploration of key midwifery education opportunities and challenges for all midwifery educators.
Nicky Clark, Freelance Midwifery Educator
C1: Women & Infant Health
Pregnancy in Mind Scotland – enabling safer spaces for babies and young children
Zoe Brown, Hub Relationship Manager – Scotland, NSPCC
14.35 – 15.05
A2: Improving care in bereavement
Reimagining existing space to create a compassionate bereavement suite
Ashleigh Gallagher, Senior Charge Midwife, NHS Fife
C2: Women & Infant Health
Supporting families when sharing news baby has Down’s Syndrome
Varshali Swadi, Professional Engagement and Development Lead, Down’s Syndrome Scotland
15.05 – 15.25
FINAL EXHIBITION VIEWING, NETWORKING AND COMFORT BREAK
15.25 – 16.30
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
15.25 – 15.55
A3: Maternity service culture
The Coaching Ripple Effect: can leadership coaching influence maternity workplace culture?
Denise Linay, Leadership Coach, University of Warwic
B3: Improving care for women and babies
Recognising Maternal Sepsis: the midwife’s role in timely recognition and escalation
Amy Breslin, Midwife, UK Sepsis Trust
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C3: The use of IT in contemporary practic
Improving access to maternity triage through digital telephony solutions
Pamela Higgins, Clinical Inpatient Midwifery Manager, NHS Fife
National maternity telephone triage education resources to support person‑centred care
JoAnna Greenock, Practice Educator, Public Services Delivery Scotland and Claire McRobbie, Practice Educator, Scottish Multiprofessional Maternity Development Programme, Public Services Delivery Scotland
16.00 – 16.30
A4: Open session
B4: Improving care for women and babies – infection and prevention
Understanding COVID-19 vaccine behaviour of South Asian and Caucasian pregnant women in the UK during the COVID-19 Pandemic: a phenomenological study
Samia Kaddeer, Midwifery Lecturer, University of the West of Scotland
C4: Improving care for women and babies
Encouraging collaboration and innovation in Cardiotocograph (CTG) interpretation
Keya Smith, Clinical Education Midwife, The Podium, Phase 2, Victoria Hospital