HC Deb 11 January 1988 vol 125 cc184-6W
Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of babies born below 2,500 g for each of the last 10 years; if he will present this data as a percentage of all births; and if he will classify the social class of these babies by the class of the father.

Mrs. Currie

[holding answer 9 December 1987]: Information on birthweight from annual summaries of DHSS form LHS 27/1 is given in table 1. These returns do not identify the social class of baby or father.

Information on birthweight from the registration of live births was first collected by the Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys in 1975. The level of birthweight recording rose, and data were first published for 1980 when 87 per cent. of live births had a stated birthweight. Table 2, therefore, shows figures for live and still births from 1980 to 1985, the latest year available.

Information on social class for illegitimate births is not shown as this is not collected on a comparable basis to that for legitimate births. The social class data for live births are derived from a sample of live births.

Table 2 Legitimate livebirths by birthweight and social class 1980–85
Live births England and Wale.
Birthweight (grams)
Social class All births Total stated birthweight Under 2,500 Percentage under 2,500
1980
I-V 558,938 480,895 30,330 6.3
I 40,803 35,473 1,882 5.3
II 123,586 107,857 5,680 5.3
IIIN 61,902 52,595 3,025 5.8
IIIM 212,279 181,843 11,991 6.6
IV 87,669 74,946 5,468 7.3
V 32,669 28,181 2,284 8.1
Other 19,924 16,758 1,031 6.2
1981
I-V 53,376 508,347 31,194 6.1
I 41,064 39,252 2,149 5.5
II 122,249 116,317 5,542 4.8
IIIN 60,394 57,554 3,026 5.3
IIIM 198,234 188,871 12,299 6.5
IV 79,880 76,220 5,639 7.4
V 31,555 30,133 2,539 8.4
Other 20,150 19,267 1,209 6.3
1982
I-V 516,946 492,446 30,526 6.2
I 40,894 39,022 2,091 5.4
II 118,383 113,148 6,206 5.5
IIIN 58,021 55,289 3,113 5.6
IIIM 189,654 181,087 11,550 6.4
IV 79,278 74,545 5,225 7.0
V 30,716 29,355 2,341 8.0
Other 20,128 19,367 1,151 5.9
1983
I-V 509,133 508,513 31,135 6.1
I 39,249 39,199 1,951 5.0
II 116,979 116,849 6,393 5.5
IIIN 57,138 57,068 3,071 5.4
IIIM 188,184 187,994 11,536 6.1
IV 76,368 76,258 5,713 7.5
V 31,215 31,145 2,471 7.9
Other 20,150 20,710 1,480 7.1
1984
I-V 504,190 503,710 32,760 6.5
I 39,640 39,630 2,190 5.5
II 115,180 115,020 6,270 5.5
IIIN 57,610 57,560 3,280 5.7
IIIM 185,480 185,300 12,530 6.8
IV 76,380 76,320 6,080 8.0
V 29,910 29,870 2,420 8.1
Other 22,160 22,010 1,310 6.0
1985
I-V 504,800 504,140 32,630 6.5
I 40,000 39,930 2,100 5.3
II 118,380 118,240 6,670 5.6
IIIN 56,210 56,140 3,210 5.7
IIIM 184,320 184,120 12,740 6.9
IV 75,380 75,250 5,550 7.4
V 30,520 30,470 2,370 7.8
Other 25,330 25,240 1,650 6.5

Note: Rounded figures may not add exactly to totals.

Legitimate stillbirths by birthweight and social class, 1980–85, England and Wales
Stillbirths
Birthweight (grams)
Social class All births Total stated birthweight Under 2,500 Percentage under 2,500
1980
I-V 3,933 3,363 2,216 65.9
I 204 170 115 67.6
II 745 621 403 64.9
IIIN 387 328 206 62.8
IIIM 1,576 1,352 885 65.5
IV 708 619 415 67.0
V 313 273 192 70.3
Other 144 102 61 59.8
1981
I-V 3,364 3,066 1,988 64.8
I 190 169 106 62.7
II 681 610 398 65.2
IIIN 335 308 186 60.4
IIIM 1,302 1,196 797 66.6
IV 576 529 337 63.7
V 280 254 164 64.6
Other 146 131 80 61.1
1982
I-V 3,149 2,792 1,735 62.1
I 177 158 92 58.2
II 599 518 315 60.8
IIIN 334 298 181 60.7
IIIM 1,200 1,061 683 64.4
IV 590 533 317 59.5
V 249 224 147 65.6
Other 132 122 82 64.1
1983
I-V 2,820 2,777 1,752 63.1
I 166 163 95 58.3
II 560 552 349 63.2
IIIN 279 276 159 57.6
IIIM 1,059 1,042 671 64.4
IV 535 527 336 63.8
V 221 217 142 65.4
Other 93 92 59 64.1
1984
I-V 2,699 2,658 1,627 61.2
I 157 155 90 58.1
II 507 503 307 61.0
IIIN 267 260 145 55.8
IIIM 997 979 609 62.2
IV 515 509 323 63.5
V 256 252 153 60.7
Other 126 120 68 56.7
1985
I-V 2,618 2,581 1,574 61.0
I 162 160 85 53.1
II 485 480 296 61.7
IIIN 291 288 183 63.5
IIIM 982 970 582 60.0
IV 477 468 288 61.5
V 221 215 140 65.1
Other 155 150 90 60.0