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This page presents information about trends in indicators related to best start in life.

Table of contents

Children achieving a good level of development at age 2

Persons, 2-2.5 years

Time period East of England Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2017/18 82.7 82.4 83.0 83.3
2018/19 87.1 86.8 87.4 84.1
2019/20 85.3 85.0 85.6 83.3
2020/21 86.1 85.8 86.5 82.9
2021/22 83.8 83.4 84.1 81.1
2022/23 84.7 84.3 85.0 79.2
2023/24 84.5 84.2 84.9 80.4

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: Office for Health Improvement and Disparities using interim reporting of health visiting metrics

The line chart shows the percentage of children who were at least at the expected level in all Ages and Stages Questionnaire domains at 2 to 2½ years. The proportion in the East of England increased from 82.7% in the financial year ending 2018 to 84.5% in the financial year ending 2024.


Teenage pregnancy

Female, <18 years

Time period East of England Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
1998 37.9 36.7 39.2 46.6
1999 36.4 35.2 37.6 44.8
2000 35.1 33.9 36.3 43.6
2001 34.2 33.0 35.4 42.5
2002 34.6 33.5 35.8 42.8
2003 33.1 32.0 34.2 42.1
2004 32.4 31.3 33.5 41.6
2005 32.4 31.4 33.5 41.4
2006 33.1 32.0 34.2 40.6
2007 33.0 31.9 34.1 41.4
2008 31.1 30.1 32.2 39.7
2009 30.7 29.7 31.8 37.1
2010 29.1 28.1 30.1 34.2
2011 26.6 25.6 27.6 30.7
2012 23.2 22.3 24.2 27.8
2013 21.0 20.2 21.9 24.4
2014 20.2 19.4 21.1 22.9
2015 18.9 18.0 19.7 20.9
2016 17.1 16.3 17.9 19.0
2017 15.8 15.1 16.6 17.8
2018 14.2 13.5 14.9 16.6
2019 13.6 12.9 14.4 15.5
2020 11.7 11.0 12.4 12.8
2021 11.0 10.3 11.6 13.1

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: OHID, based on Office for National Statistics data

The line chart shows the rate of conceptions in females aged under 18. The crude rate in the East of England decreased from 37.9 per 1,000 in 1998 to 11.0 per 1,000 in 2021.


Low birth weight of term babies

Persons, >=37 weeks gestational age at birth

Time period East of England Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2006 2.7 2.6 2.8 3.0
2007 2.5 2.4 2.7 2.9
2008 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.9
2009 2.7 2.6 2.8 2.9
2010 2.6 2.5 2.7 2.9
2011 2.5 2.4 2.7 2.8
2012 2.7 2.5 2.8 2.8
2013 2.4 2.3 2.5 2.8
2014 2.7 2.6 2.8 2.9
2015 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.8
2016 2.6 2.5 2.7 2.8
2017 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.8
2018 2.6 2.5 2.8 2.9
2019 2.7 2.6 2.8 2.9
2020 2.6 2.5 2.7 2.9
2021 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.8
2022 2.6 2.5 2.7 2.9

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: Office for National Statistics

The line chart shows the percentage of full term babies who had a birth weight under 2500 grams. The proportion in the East of England changed from 2.7% in 2006 to 2.6% in 2022.


Babies whose first feed is breastmilk

Persons, newborn

Time period East of England Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2020/21 75.7 75.3 76.1 71.7
2021/22 74.1 73.7 74.5 72.2
2022/23 73.3 73.0 73.7 71.8
2023/24 74.3 73.9 74.7 71.9

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: Maternity Services Dataset (MSDS v2.0)

The line chart shows the percentage of babies whose first feed is breastmilk. The proportion in the East of England decreased from 75.7% in the financial year ending 2021 to 74.3% in the financial year ending 2024.


Infant mortality

Persons, <1 yr

Time period East of England Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2001 - 03 4.5 4.2 4.8 5.4
2002 - 04 4.4 4.1 4.7 5.2
2003 - 05 4.2 3.9 4.5 5.1
2004 - 06 4.1 3.8 4.4 5.0
2005 - 07 4.1 3.9 4.4 4.9
2006 - 08 4.3 4.0 4.6 4.8
2007 - 09 4.2 4.0 4.5 4.7
2008 - 10 4.0 3.7 4.3 4.6
2009 - 11 3.9 3.6 4.2 4.4
2010 - 12 3.9 3.6 4.1 4.3
2011 - 13 3.8 3.5 4.0 4.1
2012 - 14 3.6 3.4 3.9 4.0
2013 - 15 3.4 3.1 3.6 3.9
2014 - 16 3.3 3.1 3.6 3.9
2015 - 17 3.2 3.0 3.5 3.9
2016 - 18 3.4 3.1 3.6 3.9
2017 - 19 3.5 3.2 3.7 3.9
2018 - 20 3.4 3.2 3.7 3.9
2019 - 21 3.4 3.1 3.6 3.9
2020 - 22 3.4 3.1 3.6 3.9

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (based on Office for National Statistics source data)

The line chart shows the rate of infant deaths aged under 1 year per 1,000 live births. The crude rate in the East of England decreased from 4.5 per 1,000 in 2001 to 2003 to 3.4 per 1,000 in 2020 to 2022.


Dental decay at age 5

Persons, 5 years

Time period East of England Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2007/08 24.8 24.1 25.6 30.9
2008/09 NA NA NA NA
2009/10 NA NA NA NA
2010/11 NA NA NA NA
2011/12 23.0 22.2 23.7 27.9
2012/13 NA NA NA NA
2013/14 NA NA NA NA
2014/15 20.2 19.6 20.9 24.7
2015/16 NA NA NA NA
2016/17 18.0 17.3 18.7 23.3
2017/18 NA NA NA NA
2018/19 19.0 18.1 19.8 23.4
2019/20 NA NA NA NA
2020/21 NA NA NA NA
2021/22 19.3 18.5 20.2 23.7

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: Dental Public Health Epidemiology Programme for England: oral health survey of five year old children (Biennial publication - latest report 2022) (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/oral-health#surveys-and-intelligence:-children)

The line chart shows the percentage of 5 year olds with observed dental decay extending to the dentine layer. The proportion in the East of England decreased from 24.8% in the financial year ending 2008 to 19.3% in the financial year ending 2022.


Emergency hospital admissions for injuries in children, ages under 15

Persons, <15 years

Time period East of England Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2010/11 96.7 94.8 98.6 115.2
2011/12 108.7 106.7 110.7 118.3
2012/13 91.4 89.6 93.3 104.0
2013/14 100.4 98.5 102.3 112.5
2014/15 99.3 97.4 101.2 110.1
2015/16 92.1 90.3 93.9 104.9
2016/17 87.7 86.0 89.5 102.4
2017/18 86.9 85.2 88.7 97.8
2018/19 86.2 84.4 87.9 98.1
2019/20 86.2 84.5 87.9 93.6
2020/21 74.4 72.8 76.0 78.2
2021/22 78.2 76.5 79.8 84.3
2022/23 63.8 62.4 65.3 75.3

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

View emergency hospital admissions for injuries in children, ages under 15 data.

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Source: Office for Health Improvement and Disparities using NHS England Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and Office for National Statistics (ONS) mid year population estimates

The line chart shows the rate of emergency hospital admissions for injuries in children aged under 15 years. The crude rate in the East of England decreased from 96.7 per 10,000 in the financial year ending 2011 to 63.8 per 10,000 in the financial year ending 2023.