
New statistics have been released by a north-east health board which count the pitter-patter of tiny feet.
NHS Grampian is now revealing the number of babies born at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital’s maternity unit on a monthly basis.
The first batch of figures confirmed that in November a total of 48 babies were born in the unit– 24 of which were water births.
Data released refers only to the midwives unit situated at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, although there are plans to include data from all units next year.
From birth, 100% of babies were given skin-to-skin contact and 73% of mothers in the unit have been breastfeeding from birth.
Other statistics also break down the sex of babies born in the unit.
Throughout November, a total of 30 boys and 18 girls came into the world.
Of those born, 13 were the first baby for the family, while 35 were either the second baby or more than the second.
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It is anticipated the figures will continue to come out on a monthly basis.
An NHS Grampian spokeswoman said: “We’re pleased to be able to share this information from the Midwives Unit at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital.
“We know the general public find these posts informative and helpful and the reaction to this particular post has been really positive.
“We are hoping to make similar information available from all our birth units from early 2019,” she added.
It follows the health board’s recent “What we did in a week” feature.
It began earlier this year and covers Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin.
Information includes how many people did not attend appointments, the total number of people who visited the accident and emergency departments and the percentage of those who were seen and either admitted or discharged within four hours.
It also provides statistics on those who attended outpatient departments.