The statistics on this web site act as signposts to the type of maternity care available in maternity units in England and Scotland. Like the signposts on our roads, these statistics point the way. By definition, they can never tell the whole story, some of which can not be expressed in numbers anyway.
Care is also needed in interpreting these statistical pointers. For example, if a unit in a local district general hospital has a relatively high rate of caesarean deliveries this may reflect the way in which it provides care. On the other hand, specialist units are more likely to have high rates because they act as referral centres for women with complications who are more likely than others to need a caesarean.
One way to make caesarean, induction and other rates more comparable with each other is to 'adjust' them statistically to try to take account of the differences between the types of women giving birth in each unit. This assumes that everyone using the figures understand the 'adjustment' process and agrees that the right factors have been taken into account. This is not the case with these maternity statistics, so BirthChoiceUK has not manipulated the statistics. As a result, readers have to bear in mind the need to compare like with like when making judgements and avoid 'comparing apples with pears'.
As on the roads, some of the signposts we expect to see are missing, except perhaps in Scotland. Wales and Northern Ireland do not routinely publish statistics about their maternity units and statistics are missing for some maternity units in England.
Statistical information for England passes from hospitals through the NHS' computer network to the Department of Health. Gaps can arise in two ways. Some maternity services do not have a computer system in their unit and keep only manual records. Others have a computer system which works within the maternity unit but is not linked to their hospital's system. More up to date computer systems are needed to fill these gaps and replace outdated computer systems elsewhere.
Meanwhile, on this updated website, BirthChoiceUK has made good use of the statistics we have, ensuring that the information is available promptly to a wider non-professional audience. The team has done this voluntarily, without handouts from media tycoons or companies selling baby goods. In doing so, they have built on the work of the people in the Department of Health for England and the Information and Statistics Division, Scotland who compiled the statistics in the first place.
Alison Macfarlane
City University
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