Glasgow City Region

Premature births (<37 weeks), Glasgow City Regions councils
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In the early 2000s, Glasgow had the second highest rate of premature births in the region but is now in the mid range of rates in the most recent period (6.6% in 2016/17-2018/19). In West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde rates of prematurity have risen in the last 5-6 years, leading to these local authorities now having the highest rates of premature births in the region.

Note

Pregnancy usually lasts 40 weeks. If a baby is born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy, they are premature (also known as preterm). The number of weeks into a pregnancy is also referred to as the “gestational age”.  The figures given are for singleton births, i.e. not twins, triplets or other multiples.

Scottish Morbidity Records for maternities (SMR02) have been used here to calculate the proportion of babies born prematurely (<37 weeks). The data have been aggregated into rolling groups of three fiscal years to produce annual averages.