Official Statistics

Child and maternal health profiles, May 2024 update: statistical commentary

Published 8 May 2024

Applies to England

What’s new

Pregnancy and birth indicators have been updated with data for 2022 or the financial year ending 2023.

Hospital admission and A&E attendance indicators have been updated with data for the financial year ending 2023.

The following indicators have been updated:

• percentage of deliveries to women aged 35 years and above
• percentage of deliveries to women from ethnic minorities
• percentage of deliveries by caesarean section
• under 18s birth rate
• neonatal mortality
• post-neonatal mortality
• stillbirth rate
• general fertility rate
• hospital admissions for ectopic pregnancy
• hospital admissions for pelvic inflammatory disease
• hospital admissions of babies aged under 14 days
• emergency hospital admissions for gastroenteritis for children aged under 1 year, 1 year and 2 to 4 years
• emergency hospital admissions for respiratory tract infections for children aged under 1 year, 1 year and 2 to 4 years
• emergency hospital admissions for asthma for children aged 0 to 9 years and 10 to 18 years
• emergency hospital admissions for epilepsy for children aged 0 to 18 years, 0 to 9 years and 10 to 18 years
• emergency hospital admissions for diabetes for children aged 0 to 18 years, 0 to 9 years and 10 to 18 years
• emergency hospital admissions for children aged 0 to 18 years, under 1 year and 0 to 4 years
• A&E attendances for children aged under 1 year and 0 to 18 years

Introduction

The child and maternal health profile presents indicators by life-course stage and theme:

• preconception, pregnancy and birth
• maternity
• child health
• early years
• school-age children
• young people
• breastfeeding
• healthcare use
• long-term conditions and complex needs
• mortality
• oral health
• unintentional injuries
• vaccinations and immunisations
• vulnerable children and young people

Where inequalities data is available, it is provided as additional breakdowns for England, most commonly for sex, age, deprivation and ethnic group.

Main findings

Pregnancy and birth

This update shows:

• the general fertility rate fell from 54.2 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years in 2021 to 51.9 in 2022
• the percentage of deliveries to women from ethnic minority groups (excluding white minority groups) increased from 22.9% in the financial year ending 2022 to 25.3% in the financial year ending 2023
• the percentage of deliveries by caesarean section increased from 34.7% in the financial year ending 2022 to 37.8% in the financial year ending 2023
• hospital admissions of babies under 14 days increased from 81.6 per 1,000 population in the financial year ending 2022 to 84.8 in the financial year ending 2023

Stillbirths and infant mortality

This update shows that the stillbirth rate, neonatal mortality rate and post-neonatal mortality rate remained stable in the latest 3-year period 2020 to 2022.

Hospital admissions and A&E attendances

This update shows that compared to the previous year:

• A&E attendances increased in the financial year ending 2023 for all children aged under 18 years for all age groups presented
• emergency admissions for children (all causes) aged under 18 years decreased in the financial year ending 2023 for all age groups presented, apart from an increase for children aged under 1 year
• emergency admissions for most causes examined decreased or remained stable in the financial year ending 2023, however:
  • admissions for epilepsy in the financial year ending 2023 for children aged 0 to 9 years increased
  • admissions for lower respiratory tract infections for children aged under 5 years increased in the financial year ending 2023 for all age groups presented

Detailed findings

Changes in the maternal population

The general fertility rate continues to trend downwards with around 19,000 fewer births in 2022 than in 2021, but there are differing patterns in certain sub-populations. The maternal population is changing with births to younger and older age groups rising in 2022.

The birth rate among women aged under 18 increased to 3.4 per 1,000 population in 2022 compared with 2021 but the long-term trend shows a decrease. The increase occurred in all regions of England apart from the North East and the South West, and across all deciles of deprivation.

The percentage of deliveries to women aged 35 or above increased to 24.4% in 2022, the continuation of a longer-term increasing trend. This increase occurred in all regions of England apart from London.

Over a quarter of births (25.3%) are now to women from ethnic minority groups. This continues the longer-term trend of increases at England level and in all regions since the financial year ending 2019 (figure 1).

Figure 1: percentage of deliveries to women from ethnic minority groups in England

Stillbirths, neonatal mortality and admissions for babies aged under 14 days

Trends in stillbirths, neonatal and post-neonatal mortality reflect the recent stable trends in infant mortality. The infant mortality rate of 3.9 per 1,000 live births has not significantly changed between the 3-year periods 2013 to 2015 and 2020 to 2022. Over the same time the stillbirth rate declined up to the 3-year period 2017 to 2019 and has been stable at 3.9 per 1,000 total births since (figure 2).

Figure 2: stillbirth rate in England

The neonatal mortality rate declined up to the 3-year period 2013 to 2015, and there have been no significant changes from then until 2020 to 2022. Similarly, the post-neonatal mortality rate declined up to the 3-year period 2014 to 2016, with no significant changes from then until 2020 to 2022.

Inequalities in neonatal mortality continue to widen. The neonatal mortality rate was 4.3 per 1,000 live births in the most deprived decile of local authorities compared with 2.4 in the least deprived decile in the 3-year period 2010 to 2012, a gap of 1.9. The gap has fluctuated over time, but has widened to 2.4 in the 3-year period 2020 to 2022 (figure 3).  

Figure 3: inequalities in neonatal mortality by decile of deprivation, in England, 2020 to 2022

The post-neonatal mortality rate was 1.6 per 1,000 live births in the most deprived decile of local authorities compared with 1.0 in the least deprived decile in the 3-year period 2010 to 2012, a gap of 0.6. The gap has fluctuated over time and was 0.9 in the 3-year period 2020 to 2022. 

Hospital admissions for babies aged under 14 days increased to 85 per 1,000 deliveries in the financial year ending 2023, continuing the increasing trend for England. Admissions are higher than in the financial year ending 2022 in all regions of England apart from the East of England and the South West.

Methodology

The inequalities described in this document are calculated from aggregating county and unitary authority data to deciles according to their index of multiple deprivation 2019.

In 2023, NHS England announced a methodological change that may reduce the number of admissions reported for these indicators. For further details please check the detailed metadata for these indicators on the child and maternal health profile.

Revisions

Following Census 2021, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) carried out reconciliation and rebasing of the mid-year population estimates (MYE). This process happens every 10 years following the census. The official population estimates for mid-2012 to mid-2020 have been revised, to incorporate the update now available from Census 2021. The back series for all the hospital admissions indicators have been updated with the revised population data.

Contact

For enquiries or feedback relating to the child health profiles, email childandmaternalhealth@dhsc.gov.uk.