NHS Lothian Maternity Services will publish their birth statistics monthly starting with the August 2023 births.
Around 9000 babies are born in NHS Lothian every year – on the labour wards at St John’s Hospital or the Royal Infirmary, at the Lothian Birth Centre or at home.
NHS Lothian Maternity Services constantly review their birth data and the Quality Improvement Team identify yearly priorities. This work has resulted in the creation of a Preterm Birth Clinic, a Small Baby Research Clinic and a Birth Choices Clinic for women and birthing people who have had a previous caesarean birth and want to discuss their options for their next pregnancy.
The table below shows how NHS Lothian rates for method of birth compare to the national Scottish average.
National birth rates released by Public Health Scotland for year ending 31/03/2022 (most recent): Births in Scotland – Year ending 31 March 2022 – Births in Scotland – Publications – Public Health Scotland
| Method of birth | National rates | NHS Lothian rates |
| SVB | 50.2% | 49.2% |
| Caesarean (total) | 37.2% | 36.7% |
| Planned caesarean | 18.3% | 15.1% |
| Unplanned caesarean | 19.4% | 18.9% |
| Assisted birth (forceps, ventouse and kiwi) | 12.0% | 14.9% |
SVB: spontaneous vaginal birth rate, including those births which started as inductions of labour.
Watch this space for more birth stats next month with new features such as the most popular baby names, the busiest month to be born in, a focus on infant feeding choices and lots more.
Since you are here, why not have a look around our website which has up-to-date information about your local maternity services in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
