Maternity Statistics

Release date:
29 January 2016

You asked

I would like to request the most recent maternity statistics pertaining to East Kent (England). Specifically, the number of pregnancies, number of live births, mother and child data, and number of registered midwives.

We said

Thank you for your query regarding birth and pregnancy data.

The number of births in Kent by local authority district can be found in Table 1 of our Births by Area of Usual Residence of Mother publication. The latest figures available are for 2014:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/datasets/birthsbyareaofusualresidenceofmotheruk

Note these figures are based on the usual residence of the mother rather than where the birth occurred.

More information on births and mothers can be found in our other publications:

ONS uses conception data as a proxy for pregnancies. Conception statistics are estimated for women usually resident in England and Wales and are based on birth registrations and abortion records. Conception statistics do not include conceptions resulting in miscarriages or illegal abortions. The latest figures available are for 2013:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/conceptionandfertilityrates/bulletins/conceptionstatistics/2015-02-24

The number of conceptions to women aged under 18 in Kent by local authority district can be found in Table 6 and Table 8. The number of conceptions to women aged under 16 in Kent by local authority district can be found in Table 7.

Figures on registered midwives are not held by ONS. The maternity statistics published by the Health & Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) do include information on the number of midwives registered in England:

http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB17333

Therefore we suggest that you contact HSCIC to find out whether geographic breakdowns are available (enquiries@hscic.gov.uk).

Other special extracts and tabulations of birth and conception data for England and Wales are available (subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreement of costs, where appropriate). You do not need to make a Freedom of Information request and can contact the team directly at: vsob@ons.gov.uk

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