§ Mr. Carter-Jones asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the number and percentage of (a) all births and (b) births in National Health Service hospitals in England that were induced in 1980, stating the birth weights and perinatal mortality rates for these babies; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg:In 1978, the latest year for which figures are available, the estimated number of inductions—200,770—as a percentage of all deliveries in England and Wales was 36.3 per cent.; the comparable figure for National Health Service hospital inductions as a percentage of all births was 33.4 per cent. The birth weights and perinatal mortality rates for these births, and separate figures for England, are not readily available.