§ Dr. Godmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report the number of children born with spina bifida in each of the years 1978 to 1984.
§ Mr. John PattenThe available information is shown in the table:
Number of babies born with spina bifida 1978 to 1983 England and Wales Year Number of babies 1978 841 1979 845 1980 756 1981 633 1982 511 1983 422 Note: Figures are derived from a voluntary system of notifying congenital 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.