Pregnancy, births and maternity: key data sources

Key data sources 

National Records of Scotland (NRS) provides information on births and deaths: 

• Registrar General's Annual Review 
• Vital events reference tables includes data on live births, stillbirth, perinatal death, neonatal death and infant death are available for Scotland or by NHS board and local authority. 

The Scottish Birth Record (SBR). 

Scottish Morbidity Record 02 (SMR02) is submitted by maternity hospitals to ISD. These have been collected by maternity hospitals since 1975. It includes data on: mother’s age, deprivation, smoking history, alcohol and drug misuse, BMI (at antenatal booking); birth - induction, mode of delivery, outcome (live or still-birth); baby - gestation, birth weight. A variety of data are available for different geographies and by deprivation quintile. 

MBRRACE-UK (Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries) publishes a Perinatal Mortality Surveillance Report and a report on material outcomes. 

A maternal and infant nutrition survey in 2017 was published in 2018. The data provided gives NHS boards the evidence required to set targets and indicators and to measure outcomes. 

The Maternity Care Survey asks women about their most recent NHS maternity care experience. It covers the maternity care journey from antenatal care through to care at home after the birth. There have been three surveys to date (2013, 2015, 2018)