Maternity Services Monthly Statistics, January 2022, experimental statistics

Where birth weight is recorded, 4% of term babies had a birth weight of less than 2,500 grams.

The World Health Organisation defines low birth weight as less than 2,500g.

It is recommended that mothers have skin-to-skin contact with their babies after birth to promote the initiation of breastfeeding and protect against the negative effects of mother-baby separation. The MSDS receives data on whether a mother had skin-to-skin contact with their baby within one hour of birth.

Breastfeeding contributes to the health of both the mother and child in the short and longer term and it is recommended that women should be made aware of these benefits. The MSDS records whether a baby's first feed was maternal breast milk, donor breast milk or not breast milk.