Publication, Part of Maternity Services Monthly Statistics
Maternity Services Monthly Statistics, Final March 2023, Provisional April 2023, experimental statistics
Official statistics
Introduction of Provisional data
This is the first publication of Maternity Services Monthly Statistics to include provisional data, in addition to the final data reported in this publication series. This publication change is occurring as we have moved to a provisional and final processing submission model for the Maternity Services Dataset (MSDS). Therefore, this month's publication contains both the final March 2023 data and the provisional April 2023 data. This provisional data will be superseded next month by the publication of final April 2023 data, which will be accompanied by provisional May 2023 data.
As part of this change, the publication now includes three new CSV files for provisional April 2023 data in addition to the existing three CSV files for final March 2023 data. The files are available under the 'Resources' section of this webpage. The provisional data will also be included for the first time in the National Maternity Dashboard, which can be accessed from the weblink below.
However, counts of babies that were fully or partially breastfed at 6 to 8 weeks old (CQIMBreastfeeding6to8Weeks) will not be available in the provisional data files or dashboard data, as this relies upon information from the Community Services Dataset (CSDS) which is not available for publication within the required timeframe.
We have moved from processing data submissions at only one point at the end of the two-month reporting window, to processing the data submissions at two points: mid-way through and at the end of the two-month reporting window. This means that submissions made in the first month of the reporting window will now be processed as the provisional submission of the respective reporting period and will produce provisional statistics. We will continue to run final processing on submissions at the end of the second month for final national analysis and reporting purposes.
This was explained in more detail in this webinar for data submitters - for which a recording, slides, and transcript are available.
The submission window change was introduced in May 2023, for the submission and publication of April 2023 data.
29 June 2023 09:30 AM
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: 28 July 2023 11:34 am