After graduating from Newnham College, Cambridge and then the University of Glasgow, she worked in clinical medicine, while training obstetrics and gynaecology.

[7] Since appointment in 2006, she has worked as a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with an interest in obstetric medicine in NHS Lothian.

[10] In March 2013, as the Scottish Government's senior medical officer for women's and children's health, she helped launch Maternity Care Quality Improvement Collaborative.

She was influential introducing the principles of Realistic Medicine which promote shared decision making, reducing variation and innovation in healthcare and influence policy across Scotland and internationally.

[17] In a government press conference later that day, she admitted she had visited her holiday home more than once during lockdown and apologised.

"[22] On the afternoon of the 5 April 2020 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that Calderwood would be "withdrawing from media briefings for the foreseeable future" and explained that the government would be revising its public information campaign.

[23] She issued this statement: "People across Scotland know what they need to do to reduce the spread of this virus and that means they must have complete trust in those who give them advice".

[21][24] The following morning, Sturgeon told BBC Breakfast that she and Calderwood had had a "long conversation" on the evening of the 5 April.