This is a publication on maternity activity in English NHS hospitals. This report examines data relating to delivery and birth episodes in 2021-22, and the booking appointments for these deliveries. This annual publication covers the financial year ending March 2022. Data is included from both the Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) data warehouse and the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS). HES contains records of all admissions, appointments and attendances for patients admitted to NHS hospitals in England. The HES data used in this publication are called 'delivery episodes'. The MSDS collects records of each stage of the maternity service care pathway in NHS-funded maternity services, and includes information not recorded in HES. The MSDS is a maturing, national-level dataset. In April 2019 the MSDS transitioned to a new version of the dataset. This version, MSDS v2.0, is an update that introduced a new structure and content - including clinical terminology, in order to meet current clinical practice and incorporate new requirements. It is designed to meet requirements that resulted from the National Maternity Review, which led to the publication of the Better Births report in February 2016. This is the third publication of data from MSDS v2.0 and data from 2019-20 onwards is not directly comparable to data from previous years. This publication shows the number of HES delivery episodes during the period, with a number of breakdowns including by method of onset of labour, delivery method and place of delivery. It also shows the number of MSDS deliveries recorded during the period, with breakdowns including the baby's first feed type, birthweight, place of birth, and breastfeeding activity; and the mothers' ethnicity and age at booking. There is also data available in a separate file on breastfeeding at 6 to 8 weeks. The count of Total Babies includes both live and still births, and previous changes to how Total Babies and Total Deliveries were calculated means that comparisons between 2019-20 MSDS data and later years should be made with care. The MethodfDelivery measure counting babies has been replaced by the DeliveryMethodBabyGroup measure which counts deliveries, and the smoking at booking and folic acid status measures have been renamed - these changes have been made to better align this annual publication with the Maternity Services Monthly Statistics publication. Information on how all measures are constructed can be found in the HES Metadata and MSDS Metadata files provided below. In this publication we have also included an interactive Power BI dashboard to enable users to explore key NHS Maternity Statistics measures. The purpose of this publication is to inform and support strategic and policy-led processes for the benefit of patient care. This report will also be of interest to researchers, journalists and members of the public interested in NHS hospital activity in England. Any feedback on this publication or dashboard can be provided to enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk, under the subject “NHS Maternity Statistics”.

Annual UK and constituent country figures for births, deaths, marriages, divorces, civil partnerships and civil partnership dissolutions.

Live births and stillbirths annual summary statistics, by sex, age of mother, whether within marriage or civil partnership, percentage of non-UK-born mothers, birth rates and births by month and mothers' area of usual residence.

This is a publication on maternity activity in English NHS hospitals. This report examines data relating to delivery and birth episodes in 2023-24, and the booking appointments for these deliveries. This annual publication covers the financial year ending March 2024. Data is included from both the Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) data warehouse and the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS). HES contains records of all admissions, appointments and attendances for patients admitted to NHS hospitals in England. The HES data used in this publication are called 'delivery episodes'. The MSDS collects records of each stage of the maternity service care pathway in NHS-funded maternity services, and includes information not recorded in HES. The MSDS is a maturing, national-level dataset. In April 2019, the MSDS transitioned to a new version of the dataset. This version, MSDS v2.0, is an update that introduced a new structure and content - including clinical terminology, in order to meet current clinical practice and incorporate new requirements. It is designed to meet requirements that resulted from the National Maternity Review, which led to the publication of the Better Births report in February 2016. This is the fifth publication of data from MSDS v2.0 and data from 2019-20 onwards is not directly comparable to data from previous years. This publication shows the number of HES delivery episodes during the period, with a number of breakdowns including by method of onset of labour, delivery method and place of delivery. It also shows the number of MSDS deliveries recorded during the period, with a breakdown for the mother's smoking status at the booking appointment by age group. It also provides counts of live born term babies with breakdowns for the general condition of newborns (via Apgar scores), skin-to-skin contact and baby's first feed type - all immediately after birth. There is also data available in a separate file on breastfeeding at 6 to 8 weeks. For the first time information on 'Smoking at Time of Delivery' has been presented using annual data from the MSDS. This includes national data broken down by maternal age, ethnicity and deprivation. From 2025/2026, MSDS will become the official source of 'Smoking at Time of Delivery' information and will replace the historic 'Smoking at Time of Delivery' data which is to become retired. We are currently undergoing dual collection and reporting on a quarterly basis for 2024/25 to help users compare information from the two sources. We are working with data submitters to help reconcile any discrepancies at a local level before any close down activities begin. A link to the dual reporting in the SATOD publication series can be found in the links below. Information on how all measures are constructed can be found in the HES Metadata and MSDS Metadata files provided below. In this publication we have also included an interactive Power BI dashboard to enable users to explore key NHS Maternity Statistics measures. The purpose of this publication is to inform and support strategic and policy-led processes for the benefit of patient care. This report will also be of interest to researchers, journalists and members of the public interested in NHS hospital activity in England. Any feedback on this publication or dashboard can be provided to enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk, under the subject “NHS Maternity Statistics”.

Live births in the UK by area of usual residence of mother. The tables contain summary data for local authorities and local health boards (within Wales) including figures by age of mother.

This statistical release makes available the most recent monthly data on NHS-funded maternity services in England, using data submitted to the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS). This is the latest report from the newest version of the data set, MSDS.v.2, which has been in place since April 2019. The new data set was a significant change which added support for key policy initiatives such as continuity of carer, as well as increased flexibility through the introduction of new clinical coding. This was a major change, so data quality and coverage initially reduced from the levels seen in earlier publications. MSDS.v.2 data completeness improved over time, and we are looking at ways of supporting further improvements. This publication also includes the National Maternity Dashboard. Recently, Statistical Process Control (SPC) charts were included in the National Maternity Dashboard. These can be accessed via the CQIM+ page in the dashboard. Data derived from SNOMED codes is used in some measures such as those for smoking at booking and delivery, and birth weight, and others will follow in later publications. SNOMED data is also included in some of the published Clinical Quality Improvement Metrics (CQIMs), where rules have been applied to ensure measure rates are calculated only where data quality is high enough. System suppliers are at different stages of development and delivery to trusts. In some cases, this has limited the aspects of data that can be submitted in the MSDS. To help Trusts understand to what extent they met the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) Maternity Incentive Scheme (MIS) Data Quality Criteria for Safety Action 2, we have been producing a CNST Scorecard Dashboard showing trust performance against this criteria. This month, this dashboard has been updated following the release of CNST Y6 criteria, and can be accessed via the link below. These statistics are classified as experimental and should be used with caution. Experimental statistics are new official statistics undergoing evaluation. More information about experimental statistics can be found on the UK Statistics Authority website. The percentages presented in this report are based on rounded figures and therefore may not total to 100%.

Rank and count of the top names for baby boys, changes in rank since the previous year and breakdown by country, region, mother's age and month of birth.

Rank and count of the top names for baby girls, changes in rank since the previous year and breakdown by country, region, mother's age and month of birth.

Historic lists of top 100 names for baby boys and girls for 1904 to 2024 at 10-yearly intervals.

Dataset population: Workplace population aged 16 and over in employment in the area the week befire the census

Daytime/workday population

England and Wales (Workday Population)

Workday population is where the usually resident population is re-distributed to their places of work, while those not in work are recorded at their usual residence.

The workday population of an area is defined as all usual residents aged 16 and above who are in employment and whose workplace is in the area, and all other usual residents of any age who are not in employment but are resident in the area. People who work mainly at or from home or do not have a fixed place of work are included in their area of their usual residence. The following population groups are excluded from the workday population of an area:

• Those living in England and Wales but working in Scotland, Northern Ireland, outside the UK or on offshore installations,
• Those with a place of work in England and Wales but who are not usually resident in England and Wales, and
• Short-term residents

England and Wales (Workplace Population)

Workplace population is where the usually resident population is re-distributed to their main place of work, but those not working are excluded.

Means of travel to place of work (2001 specifications)

This dataset provides 2011 Census estimates that classify the workday population aged 16 to 74 in England and Wales by method of travel to work. The estimates are as at census day, 27 March 2011.

The information in datasets that use the 2001 specifications of 'Travel to Work' is produced using both a person's place of work and their method of travel to work and is comparable with 2001.

For example, a person who has indicated their place of work as their home address and said that they travel to work by driving a car or van (e.g. visiting clients) appears in the category 'Works mainly at or from home', as was the case in 2001.

Place of usual residence

For the 2011 Census, a person's place of usual residence is generally the address in the UK at which they spend the majority of time. For most people this means their permanent or family home.

The census counted someone as usually resident at their permanent or family home if, on 27 March 2011:

• They were temporarily away from home, for example on holiday, visiting friends or relatives or travelling (unless outside of the UK for 12 months or more)
• They were in a communal establishment such as a care home, hospital or similar establishment for less than six months
• They were a baby born on or before 27 March 2011, even if still in hospital
• They had more than one UK address and were staying at the second address on census night.

In addition to people present at their permanent or family home, the 2011 Census counted someone as usually resident at an address if on 27 March 2011, they were a usual resident of the UK and present at an address on census night (even if only for one night) and had no other usual address in the UK.

Someone was not counted as usually resident at an address if, on 27 March 2011:

• The address at which they were staying was not their usual address and they usually lived elsewhere in the UK (these people were counted as visitors to the address)
• They were away from their home address and had been staying or were expecting to stay in a communal establishment such as a care home or hospital for six months or more (these people were enumerated as usually resident at the communal establishment).

Further clarification is applicable to the definition of place of usual residence certain population sub-groups:

• Students and schoolchildren in full-time education studying away from the family home were counted as usually resident at their term-time address. Basic demographic information only (name, sex, age, marital status and relationship) was collected at their non-term-time ('home' or vacation) address.

• Armed forces personnel were counted as usually resident at their permanent or family home even if the majority of their time was spent at their 'working' address. Additionally, the following clarification applies to armed forces personnel with specific circumstances:

  • A member of the armed forces on deployment on operations was included at their permanent or family address regardless of length of deployment
  • A member of the armed forces with no permanent or family address at which they were usually resident was recorded as usually resident at their base address
  • If the permanent (stationed) base was abroad, e.g. Germany or Cyprus, then the armed forces member was not included in the census count
  • A member of the armed forces serving on a ship inside UK waters on 27 March 2011 was counted as usually resident at their family/permanent home or resident on the ship if they did not have a family/permanent home
  • A member of the armed forces serving on a ship outside UK waters on 27 March 2011 was counted as usually resident at their family permanent home or home port/naval base address if they did not have a family/permanent home.

• Additionally, Armed Forces personnel from overseas forces based in the UK for three months or longer were counted as usually resident in the UK at their UK permanent or family home/base address.

People with a second address, for example those working away from home and other people with two or more addresses, were counted as usually resident at their permanent or family home even if the majority of their time is spent at another address. This includes people who spent time at a second address outside of the UK, but only if they intended to remain outside the UK for less than 12 months in total (except armed forces deployed on operations).

Children with parents who live apart and spend part of their time living with each parent were advised to be counted as usually resident at the address at which the child spent the majority of their time. If the child spent time equally living with each parent then they were advised to be counted as usually resident at the address where they were staying overnight on 27 March 2011.

For people living in communal establishments who had already spent or expected to spend six months or more in a communal establishment, for example, a care home, hospital or hostel, their place of usual residence was that communal establishment. Otherwise their place of usual residence was at their UK home address and the person was classified as a visitor to the communal establishment.

Place of usual residence for people in prison applies to sentenced prisoners in a similar way as others in communal establishments, based upon the length of their sentence. This means that:

• If they were convicted with a sentence of six months or more then they were counted as usually resident in the prison
• If they were convicted with a sentence of less than six months then they were counted as usually resident at their permanent or family home and as a visitor to the prison
• If they were on remand then they were counted as usually resident at their permanent or family home, and as a visitor to the prison, irrespective of how long they were in prison on remand