FOI Ref: FOI/2021/3311

You asked

​Please supply the following information:

  • Number of still births recorded in the UK from January to November 2021.

  • Number of still births for the same period in 2020 in the UK.

  • Number of still births in the UK from January to November 2021 which were from vaccinated mothers.

We said

Thank you for your enquiry.

We are responsible for the production of Mortality data for England and Wales, this is driven by information collected from the death certificate at death registration. National Records Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for statistics pertaining to Scotland and Northern Ireland. They can be contacted at foi@nrscotland.gov.uk and info@nisra.gov.uk respectively.

Stillbirth data for Scotland and Northern Ireland can be found on the respective websites.

We have published annual 2020 stillbirths (based on birth registrations) for England and Wales which can be found in table 3 of our Birth summary tables. Stillbirths for England and Wales 2020 spilt by quarter of occurrence will be published on 13 January 2022 - it will be available in the Births characteristics dataset table 3.

ONS published Provisional births data for England and Wales which covers the period January to March 2021. The provisional birth data was based on NHS birth notification which is a document completed by the doctor or midwife present at the birth. The provisional data was produced in response to birth registration delays and the need for information to monitor the potential impact of COVID-19 pandemic on births. Currently there are no plans to publish further provisional births data and the annual births release covering stillbirths in 2021 is provisionally scheduled for release in the summer and by quarter of occurrence at the end of 2022.  

Please note that final figures for January to November 2021 will not be available until summer 2022. Provisional data would be based on birth notifications and as such would not be directly comparable with other birth statistics derived using birth registrations.

If this does not meet your needs, you can request bespoke analysis. The analysis would be subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreements of costs, where appropriate.  

Unfortunately, we do not hold stillbirth data by the vaccination status of the mother.