Scottish Government Equality Outcomes: Pregnancy and Maternity Evidence Review

2 Context

Legal definition of religion in the Equality Act (2010)²

2.1 Pregnancy is the condition of being pregnant or expecting a baby. Maternity refers to the period after the birth, and is linked to maternity leave in the employment context. In the non-work context, protection against maternity discrimination extends for 26 weeks after giving birth, and this includes treating a woman unfavourably because she is breastfeeding.

2.2 The reader can assume that the evidence relating to 'pregnancy', which has been included in this Evidence Review, matches the definition above. In the evidence relating to 'maternity', it is often less clear what definition has been applied, and it is likely that not all the evidence corresponds to the 26 week legal definition. The authors of this Evidence Review therefore use the terminology and definitions as they are presented in the evidence (where provided), and do not attempt to define terms where no definition has been provided in the evidence.

2.3 It should be noted that some of the data sources cited in this Evidence Review cover the whole of the UK and so are not specific to Scotland. This will be pointed out in the text.

Demography

2.4 In 2011, there were 57,824 live births in Scotland, and 268 stillbirths³. The most recent data⁴ highlighted that in Scotland the age at which women are having babies is increasing overall, with 28.2% of births to women aged 30-34, and 17.1% of births to mothers aged 35-39⁵.