Healthy pregnancy indicators
New indicators for smoking, obesity, early access to maternity services, folic acid supplement use and alcohol and drug misuse in early pregnancy.
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Preparing for and then having a healthy pregnancy improves outcomes for mother and baby. These new indicators based on data for 2018 to 2019 from the Maternity Services Dataset version 1.5 offer information about the health of mothers in early pregnancy. They are designed to help local government and health services develop services and interventions which encourage healthy pregnancy. The indicators cover the following topics in early pregnancy:
- smoking
- obesity
- early access to maternity services
- folic acid supplement use
- alcohol use
- drug misuse
Data is presented at a national level, with most indicators also available at regional level and for upper tier local authorities, clinical commissioning groups and local maternity systems. The indicators include information about inequalities.
The indicators complement data on the percentage of babies whose first feed is breastmilk which was published in March 2020.