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Healthy Child Programme: final report

3.2.1. Birth Details

Following the consultation the project team recommend that the following headings and definitions are used to record details about the birth.

Birth details (these will be obtained from maternity records)
Maternal problems in pregnancy Maternal medical conditions or infectious diseases arising in pregnancy which may have an impact on the foetus, e.g. gestational diabetes, rubella etc.
Foetal problems diagnosed before birth Problems with the foetus diagnosed with screening or ultrasound e.g. Down syndrome, congenital heart disease etc.
Length of gestation Gestational age in weeks and days (usually equivalent to length of pregnancy).
Type of delivery Type of delivery for the baby, e.g. vacuum extraction, breech extraction, elective caesarean section etc.
Type(s) of delivery (attempted) The type(s) of delivery for the baby that was attempted, but was not the final delivery method.
Problems during delivery Problems experienced by the baby during delivery e.g. cord prolapse, meconium aspiration, foetal distress etc.
Birth order The sequence in which this baby was born (one of one, one of two etc).
Multiple birth Where the baby is one of a multiple birth, to include the total number of offspring and to include whether the baby is identical to one of the siblings.
Birth weight Numeric value for weight at birth.
Location of birth The place of birth (including the address and organisation name where relevant).
Delivery place type The type of place in which the baby was born (e.g. private health facility, domestic address, NHS hospital, midwifery led unit etc.)
Neonatal resuscitation Details of neonatal resuscitation measures required, e.g. chest compression, oxygen mask etc.
Spontaneous respiration The length of time between delivery of the baby and the time spontaneous respiration began.
Put to breast Whether or not the baby was put to the breast.
APGAR score A set of observations made on the baby following birth to check adaptation to life outside the womb.
Physical problems detected at birth Physical problems identified with the baby at, or shortly after, birth. E.g. cleft lip/palate, extensive bruising, cephalohaematoma etc.

Page last updated: 27 March 2026