Official Statistics

Reproductive health: 2022 update

Update of sexual and reproductive health profile indicators for reproductive health including abortions, birth outcomes and contraceptive use.

Applies to England

Documents

Child and maternal health profiles

Reproductive health profiles

Details

Indicators in the Child and maternal health profiles and Sexual and reproductive health profiles have been updated. The annual update to reproductive health indicators gives national and local data to inform planning for reproductive and sexual health and contraceptive services for local populations. This includes information about inequalities such as deprivation, age and sex where this is available. They are intended for use by local government and health service professionals.

This release updates indicators relating to:

  • abortions
  • neonatal and post-neonatal mortality and stillbirths
  • multiple births
  • birthweight
  • general fertility rate
  • contraception

Based on a stakeholder feedback exercise, the following changes have been made to some of the contraception indicators:

  • women who choose injections at SRH services (percentage) will be replaced by women prescribed injectable contraception at SRH services: rate per 1,000
  • women who choose user-dependent methods at SRH services (percentage) will be replaced by women prescribed progesterone only pill at SRH services: rate per 1,000
  • women who choose hormonal short-acting contraceptives at SRH services (percentage) will be replaced by women prescribed short-acting combined hormonal contraception at SRH services: rate per 1,000
  • 3 new indicators for rates of women prescribed injectable contraception, progesterone only pill and short-acting combined hormonal contraception in GP practices

The publication of 2021 population estimates by the Office for National Statistics was delayed so that they could be aligned with Census results. This delayed the updating of indicators which use populations either directly or in their denominators, including some of those for birth outcomes and contraceptive use. The annual update for reproductive health indicators for 2022 has been published in February 2023 because of this delay. Further details of the effect of new population data on the updating of indicators were given in September 2022.

Indicators which were previously produced for clinical commissioning groups in this statistics release have not been updated, following their closure in 2022.

Updates to this page

Published 7 February 2023

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