Intention to breastfeed by number of times mothers had previously given birth (parity)

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Breastfeeding status
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Next update expected:July 2026

Updates

19th December 2025
Dataset first published.

Main information

Designation
Accredited official statistics
Data provider
Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW)
Data source
Maternity Indicators Dataset (MIDS)
Time period covered
January 2016 to December 2024

Overview

Summary of dataset and variables

Number and percentage mothers intending to breastfeed broken down by the number of times mothers had previously given birth (parity).

These statistics are derived from the Maternity Indicators dataset where a mother’s intention to breastfeed prior to birth is recorded and are provided to the Welsh Government by Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW).

The Maternity Indicators combines records from a mother’s initial assessment with a child’s birth record.

The Maternity Indicators dataset allows us to analyse characteristics of the mother’s pregnancy and birth process, of which ‘intention to breastfeed’ is one.

Full details of every data item available on both the Maternity Indicators dataset and National Community Child Health Database are available through the NHS Wales Data Dictionary.

Data collection or calculation

Data from the Maternity Indicators dataset only includes initial assessment data where the initial assessment and birth both occurred in the same health board, in Wales only.

Births to Welsh resident mothers who gave birth in England or in any other country outside of Wales are not included in the data.

Data for each calendar year refers to when the baby was born.

Statistical quality

The Maternity Indicators dataset is a live database, meaning health boards can amend data for any period.

For the statistics in this release, DHCW take data extracts from a single point in time, for the latest calendar year. Welsh Government will not make revisions to historical data unless errors are discovered.

Breastfeeding data at all points in time are subject to data quality issues as some mothers and babies have incomplete records. Not all records on the Maternity Indicators data set have complete records for breastfeeding status. The completeness rate decreases with the age of the baby and in 2024, 98% for intention to breastfeed data had complete records.

A completeness table for all data items used in this release from both data sources is available in the quality report.

Aneurin Bevan have not provided correctly recorded data for the intention to breastfeed data item in 2024 so have been excluded from the intention to breastfeed analysis.

From 1st April 2019 health service provision for residents of Bridgend local authority moved from Abertawe Bro Morgannwg to Cwm Taf. The health board names changed to Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board and Swansea Bay University Health Board. Data for Abertawe Bro Morgannwg and Cwm Taf are available for previous years in this table. More detailed information on the sources of data and analyses in this statistical release are provided in the quality report.

Related reports

Published by

Organisation
Welsh Government
Contact email
stats.healthinfo@gov.wales