Publication, Part of Maternity Services Monthly Statistics
Maternity Services Monthly Statistics, Final May 2024, Provisional June 2024, official statistics
Official statistics
Babies
Birth weight
Where birth weight is recorded, 4% of term babies had a birth weight of less than 2,500 grams.
The World Health Organisation defines low birth weight as less than 2,500g.
Skin-to-skin contact
It is recommended that mothers have skin-to-skin contact with their babies after birth to promote the initiation of breastfeeding and protect against the negative effects of mother-baby separation. The MSDS receives data on whether a mother had skin-to-skin contact with their baby within one hour of birth.
Babies' first feed
Breastfeeding contributes to the health of both the mother and child in the short and longer term and it is recommended that women should be made aware of these benefits. The MSDS records whether a baby's first feed was maternal breast milk, donor breast milk or not breast milk.
Administrative Sources
Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS): this is a patient-level data set that captures information about activity carried out by Maternity Services relating to a mother and baby(s), from the point of the first booking appointment until mother and baby(s) are discharged from maternity services. This is a secondary uses data set, which re-uses clinical and operational data for purposes other than direct patient care.
Last edited: 22 August 2024 9:31 am