§ Dr. Owenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the latest figures for the percentage of babies who have at birth: (a) anencephaly, (b) spina bifida, 105W (c) severe mental handicap, including Down's syndrome, and (d) Down's syndrome, born to (i) mothers under 30 years, (ii) mothers over 45 years, and (iii) all mothers.
§ Mr. John PattenThe available information is shown in the following table:
Percentage of babies notified as having anencephaly, spina bifida or Down's syndrome by mother's age, 1982. England and Wales Malformation Percentage All ages Under 30 years Over 45 years Anencephaly 0.03 0.03 0.15 Spina bifida 0.08 0.08 0.15 Down's syndrome 0.08 0.05 0.62 Notes:
Figures are derived from a voluntary system of notifying congentital malformations observed at birth or up to seven days after birth and are therefore an incomplete measure of the total number of affected infants, since many are not diagnosed until after the first week of life.
Information is not available centrally on the percentage of babies born with severe mental handicap.