§ Mr. Carter-Jones asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the percentage of babies weighing 2,500 grams or less by area and region in Northern Ireland in 1980 and state the number and rate of stillbirths, first week deaths, first month deaths and deaths under 1 year; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John Patten:The numbers of notified births, under the child health record system, of babies weighing less than 2,500 grams, and the percentages of all notified births which they represent, are given for each health and social services board area and for Northern Ireland in the table below. The table also shows the numbers of stillbirths and the rate of stillbirths per 1,000 live and stillbirths. The figures relate to 1979; data for 1980 are not yet available.
The remaining information requested is not available.
Against a background of steadily reducing mortality rates in Northern Ireland the recommendations of the Baird report on infant mortality and handicap are being implemented as resources permit.
Health and social
services
board
Notified live and still
births of
babies weigh-
ing less than
2,500 grams
Notified births less
than 2,500
grams as
percentage of
all notified
births
Stillbirths Number Rate per 1,000
live and
still
births
Eastern 650 6.2 53 81.5 Northern 419 6.2 37 88.3 Southern 292 5.2 34 116.4 Western 287 5.3 35 122.0 Northern Ireland
1,648 5.8 159 96.5