§ Audrey WiseTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what was the number of births in hospitals in England which were (a) spontaneous, (b) by Caesarean section, (c) by forceps, (d) by vacuum extraction and (e) otherwise, broken down by social class of the babies' fathers for births which were (i) within marriage and (ii) outside marriage and registered jointly by both parents and (iii) outside marriage registered by the mother alone; [108679]
(2) what was the number of births in hospitals in England which were (a) spontaneous, (b) by Caesarean section, (c) by forceps, (d) by vacuum extraction and 388W (e) otherwise, broken down by social class of the babies' mothers, in the most recent year for which the information is available. [108678]
§ Yvette CooperThe information requested is not available in the form requested. The numbers of births by type of delivery are collected by the Department on the Hospital Episode Statistics system. The numbers of births by social class of father and mother, and inside/outside marriage including sole registration are collected by the Office for National Statistics through the birth registration system. These two systems are not linked and the information requested cannot be provided.
The latest statistics on births by social class of father and type of registration (inside/outside marriage) for England and Wales for 1998, published by the Office for National Statistics, is contained in the Series FM1 volumes Birth statistics. Copies are in the Library.
The latest information on the number of maternities by method of delivery are preliminary estimates for 1997–98 and are in the table.
Method of delivery Percentage Number (thousand) Spontaneous 71 412 Caesarean 17 99 Forceps 4 23 Vacuum extraction 6 35 Other (including breach) 2 12 Total maternities 100 580 Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (Maternity) and the Office for National Statistics
§ Audrey WiseTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the number of births of babies born to residents of England weighing (a) under 1,000g, (b) 1,000–1,499g, (c) 1,500–2,499g and (d) 2,500g and over, who have been diagnosed as having cerebral palsy by the age of (i) two years and (ii) five years in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [108677]
§ Yvette CooperThere are no centrally collected data on the numbers of children in England with cerebral palsy. We are aware however that the risk of cerebral palsy among babies born weighing less than 1,500 grammes is 70 times higher than among babies weighing 2,500 grammes or more at birth.