Pregnancy and births: key points
- In Scotland, as in many other western European countries, women are tending to start their reproductive lives later.
- It is thought that approximately one-third of all conceptions are miscarried. The miscarriage may not be recorded or even recognised by the woman.
- In 2008, there were 13.1 therapeutic abortions per 1000 women aged 15-44 years.
- The stillbirth rate in 2008 was 5.4 per 1000 total births.
- There has been a marked rise in multiple births in recent years; in 2008, 1.6% of maternities were multiple.
- In 2008, only 26.7% of babies in Scotland were exclusively breastfed at 6-8 weeks, compared with the 2010/11 target of 33.3%.
Note: teenage pregnancies and are covered in the Sexual health section of this website.
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