This statistic displays the multiple birth (twins, triplets or more) rate in England and Wales from 1990 to 2022. Overall, the rate of multiple births has increased during the provided time interval. However, since 2015 the trend has been reversing. Multiple birth rates dropped to a low of 13.7 in 2021, but have returned to 14.6 by 2022.

Multiple births in England and Wales occurs, by far, the most frequent among mothers aged 45 years and over. In 2022, mothers over 45 years of age gave birth to, on average, 65 multiple births (twins, triplets or more) per 1,000 pregnancies. This statistic displays the multiple birth (twins, triplets or more) rate in England and Wales in 2022, by age of mother.

Annual live births in England and Wales by sex, birthweight, gestational age, ethnicity and month. Maternities by place of birth and with multiple births. Stillbirths by age of parents and calendar quarter.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner. The Independent Midwives UK (IMUK) Research Database project was set up in 2002 as a prospective data collection. The aim was to collect a wide range of data from the IMs' case notes, covering antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care. Each client was asked to sign a consent form giving permission for the data to be used. Research databases are normally designed to provide the minimum dataset that will satisfy the research requirements. The IMUK database took the opposite approach, collecting a wide range of data from the outset, with a 100% sample. This decision was made since it was neither practicable nor possible to contact clients for corrections and additions after the maternity care episode was completed. This has resulted in a dataset both comprehensive in scope and rich in detail. It may be particularly interesting because of the high proportion of home births (over 60%).Study Author's Acknowledgment:In memory of Roger Kistruck, with heartfelt thanks. Without him these datasets could not have been collected or processed.Independent Midwives UK (IMUK) is a membership organisation for independent midwives (IMs) in the UK. All IMUK's full members are professionally trained midwives, and are regulated by the NMC. IMs work autonomously as lead health professionals for maternity care, booking clients outside the NHS system, although almost all clients booked are also entitled to GP, specialist and emergency care as NHS patients. More than 50% of births attended by independent midwives are home births.For the June 2022 release, edits were made to the previous data files to create a standard End User Licence (EUL) access version. Users should note that the documentation may still refer to previous files. The variables contained in the EUL version are listed in the UKDA data dictionary files available in the documentation table. Main Topics: Data were collected on the following topics for each of the approximately 5,500 cases: Details of the woman client, her physical characteristics, age and medical history, particularly in relation to previous pregnancies, smoking and alcohol consumption. Details of the pregnancy and antenatal care, with tests, medication malpresentations and hospital visits. Details of the labour and birth with stage timings, nourishment, pain relief, any hospitalisation, induction of labour, assisted birth and outcome. For each baby (including twin babies) details of place of birth, gender, birthweight, any birthing problems, resuscitation, birth defects, health during the first six weeks, breastfeeding and health at discharge.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Infant Feeding Survey (IFS) has been carried out every five years since 1975, in order to establish information about infant feeding practices. Government policy in the United Kingdom has consistently supported breastfeeding as the best way of ensuring a healthy start for infants and of promoting women's health. Current guidance on infant feeding is as follows:

• breastmilk is the best form of nutrition for infants;
• exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for around the first six months (26 weeks) of an infant's life;
• infant formula is the only recommended alternative to breastfeeding for babies who are under 12 months old;
• around six months is the recommended age for the introduction of solid foods for infants, whether breastfed or fed on breastmilk substitutes;
• breastfeeding (and/or breastmilk substitutes) should continue beyond the first six months, along with appropriate types and amounts of solid foods;
• mothers who are unable to, or choose not to, follow these recommendations should be supported to optimise their infants' nutrition.

Since the IFS began, the content of the survey has evolved to reflect the prevailing government policy agenda, while recognising the importance of maintaining consistency over time to allow comparison and trend analysis. The first IFS in 1975 took place in England and Wales only. From 1980 the survey covered Scotland, while from 1990 Northern Ireland was also included. The 2005 survey was the first to provide separate estimates for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as for the UK as a whole, and to provide estimates of exclusive breast-feeding (where the baby is given only breast milk, no other liquids or solids).

Further information about the IFS series may be found on the Health and Social Care Information Centre website (search for 'Infant Feeding Survey').

The UK Data Archive holds IFS data from 1985 onwards. A separate survey, Infant Feeding in Asian Families, 1994-1996, covering England only, is held under SN 3759.


The 2010 IFS was based on an initial representative sample of mothers who were selected from all UK births registered during August and October 2010. Three stages of data collection were conducted, with Stage 1 being carried out when babies were around 4-10 weeks old, Stage 2 when they were 4-6 months old, and Stage 3 when they were 8-10 months old. A total of 10,768 mothers completed and returned all three questionnaires. For the first time in 2010, additional questions were included alongside the main Stage 2 questionnaire for mothers of multiple births.

Users should note that the UK Data Archive study currently includes questionnaire data from Stages 1, 2 and 3 and the multiple births data, with Excel data tables relating to survey methodology and sampling error.

The main aims of the 2010 survey were broadly similar to previous IFS, and were as follows:

• to establish how infants born in 2010 were being fed and to provide national figures on the incidence, prevalence and duration of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding;
• to examine trends in infant feeding practices over recent years, in particular to compare changes between 2005 and 2010;
• to investigate variations in feeding practices among different socio-demographic groups and the factors associated with mothers' feeding intentions and with the feeding practices adopted in the early weeks;
• to establish the age at which solid foods are introduced and to examine practices associated with introducing solid foods up to 9 months;
• to measure the proportion of mothers who smoke and drink during pregnancy, and to look at the patterns of smoking and drinking behaviour before, during and after the birth; and
• to measure levels of awareness of and registration on the Healthy Start scheme and understand how Healthy Start vouchers are being used. (The Healthy Start scheme provides support for mothers in receipt of certain benefits and tax credits. Vouchers are provided that can be spent on milk, infant formula, fresh fruit or vegetables for pregnant women and children under 4 years old and coupons are also available for free vitamins for pregnant women, mothers and babies.)

For the second edition (July 2013), data and documentation from Stage 3 of the survey were added to the study.

Linking files in Stata - a warning
Stata users should note that the case identifier variable (ID) number structure may differ across datasets for all three stages. The letter prefixing the ID number may be upper case in one dataset and lower case in another. This is related to whether an online, face-to-face, CATI or postal route was used to complete the questionnaire- for example one respondent has the ID number 'E00157' in Stage 1...