NHS Shetland Maternity Unit

15/10/2026

We will be lighting a candle for baby loss awareness week tonight at 7pm. We welcome people to join by lighting a candle in their own homes 🩷🩵

02/10/2026

❤️👶🏻Tiny Tickers training for our midwife sonographers👶🏻❤️

NHS Shetland Midwife Sonographers were delighted to welcome both Anne from Tiny Tickers and Midwife Sonographers from NHS Orkney, Lauren and Melissa for a fetal cardiac scanning update.

We started the morning with theory refresher of the fetal cardiac system and common cardiac anomalies. Then we had the opportunity to do hands on scanning with some wonderful pregnant women volunteers. Thank you for helping us learn, refresh and practice. ❤️👶🏻

Tiny Tickers is working hard to help give babies with congenital heart disease (CHD) a better start and support their families throughout the toughest of journeys. They provide specialist training to sonographers doing 20-week pregnancy scans as this is best chance to spot most heart problems before birth. ❤️

23/07/2026

Wow!! A big thank you for the nomination for the community hero’s award - we were lucky enough to win!⭐️

Thank you to the Picnic Press for our lovely certificate and bag of goodies!! 🩷

08/07/2026

Everyone in maternity wants to wish Hannah - one of our lovely midwives - all the very best as she starts her maternity leave 🥰🩷🩵

27/06/2026

Congratulations to both Siobhan and Vickki on achieving their maternity care assistant qualification with distinction!

They are an asset to our team in Maternity 🥳

17/06/2026

Did you experience continuity of care from your midwife/team?

The Scottish government are gathering information about continuity in maternity care.

See the poster below for details on how to take part and answer some questions about your experience in Shetland or Aberdeen!

16/06/2026

A day to celebrate our student midwives🎉

Today we had a tea party to celebrate the dedication, passion, care and commitment of our student midwives to shape the future of maternity care 💕

Gillian is one of our third year students who will be joining the maternity team in Shetland as a newly qualified midwife very soon! We are grateful to have her continue as a valued team member 🎉

14/06/2026

National Breastfeeding Helpline - open 24
hours every day

The National Breastfeeding Helpline offers friendly, non-judgemental, independent, evidence based breastfeeding support and information to anyone in the UK who needs it.

We’re here for you on every step on your breastfeeding journey however old your baby is, one day, one week, one month, one year old or more.

Calls to the Helpline cost no more than calls to UK numbers starting 01 or 02 and are part of any inclusive minutes that apply to your mobile provider or call package.
Support is also available in Welsh, Polish, Bengali & Sylheti and for people who have hearing or speech impairments.

Open 24 hours a day, call 0300 100 0212

Find out more: https://www.nationalbreastfeedinghelpline.org.uk/get-in-touch/

14/06/2026

Breastfeeding Support Across Scotland

Across Scotland, we have over 150 breastfeeding support groups a week. Whether their supporters are trained by NHS, The Breastfeeding Network, La Leche League, Breast Buddies, The Association of Breastfeeding Mothers or NCT, you can be sure of a warm welcome, and if you have any questions, trained supporters are on hand with a listening ear.

You can find all the groups available across Scotland on this interactive map

We have created this map to help mothers / parents across Scotland to identify venues that are signed up to the Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Scheme. You can feed your baby anywhere that you are your baby are legally allowed to be in Scotland but if you are anxious about feeding out and about, loo...

13/06/2026

Responsiveness & Attunement

New babies have a strong need to be close to their parents, as this helps them to feel secure and loved.

When babies feel secure, they release a hormone called oxytocin (the love hormone). This acts like a fertiliser for their growing brain, helping them to be happy babies and more confident children and adults.

Holding, smiling and talking to your baby also releases oxytocin in you, which helps you to feel calm and happy.

Holding, smiling & talking to your baby releases a hormone called oxytocin in both parent and baby.

Oxytocin helps both parent and baby to feel calm and happy and helps boost baby’s brain development.

▪️Helps form a bond between mother and baby.
▪️It is what mother & baby secrete when you cuddle your child, breastfeed and give birth.
▪️It reduces stress levels.
▪️It reduces pain sensitivity.
▪️It has an effect on our general health by lowering our blood pressure and boosting our immune systems.
▪️Breastfeeding stimulates the release of oxytocin into your system which will cause the muscles in your breast to contract allowing the let down of your milk to occur