Child and maternal health profiles: March 2025 update
Annual update of the child and maternal health profiles with indicators for child health covering mortality, emergency hospital admissions, children in care and children eligible for free school meals.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
The child and maternal health profiles provide an overview of child and maternal health and wellbeing. The profiles give data to inform planning for health and associated services for local populations. They are intended for use by local government and health service professionals.
Indicators being updated based on Office for National Statistics (ONS) annual births and mortality extracts to add data for 3-year moving averages from 2001 to 2003, to 2021 to 2023:
- stillbirth rate (fetal deaths occurring after 24 weeks of gestation)
- neonatal mortality rate (under 28 days from birth)
- post-neonatal mortality rate (between 28 days and 1 year from birth)
- infant mortality rate (under 1 year (update to add sex breakdowns at England level only))
- child mortality rate (1 to 17 years)
The following indicators have been updated based on Hospital Episode Statistics (HES):
- emergency hospital admissions (0 to 4 years) including breakdowns for ages under 1 and 1 to 4 years
- emergency hospital admissions (under 18 years)
- hospital admissions as a result of self-harm (10 to 24 years)
- hospital admissions for mental health conditions (under 18 years)
- hospital admissions due to substance misuse (15 to 24 years)
Some indicators based on data from the Department for Education have also been updated:
- children in care
- children in care immunisations
- percentage of looked-after children whose emotional wellbeing is a cause for concern
- percentage eligible for free school meals
Data is presented at an England level, with most indicators also available at regional level and for upper tier local authorities. Data is available for HES and Department for Education indicators for integrated care boards (ICBs) and NHS England regions. The hospital admissions and stillbirth indicators are also available for lower tier local authorities. The indicators include information about inequalities where possible, including for local authority-based deprivation deciles. Sex breakdowns at England level have been made available for all mortality indicators in the profile, including the infant mortality rate.
In July 2024, ONS updated its mid-year population estimates for 2022. All indicators using these estimates have been updated using the new population estimates.
Some indicators which would usually be part of this release have not been updated. It is expected that they will instead be updated later in the year. Information about future releases will be included in the research and statistics calendar:
- A&E attendances
- children killed and seriously injured on the roads