§ Mr. David MartinTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives were working in the national health service in 1979 and in the latest year for which figures are available; and what has been the trend in perinatal and maternal mortality rates since 1979.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThere were 19,2000 whole-time equivalent qualified midwives working in the hospital396W and community health service in England at 30 September 1989. The equivalent figure for 1979 was nearly 4,000 lower at 15,500.
The perinatal and maternal mortality rates have both fallen further since 1979.
The perinatal mortality rate has fallen from 14.6 to 8.1 per 1,000 total births and the maternal mortality rate has fallen from 0.11 to 0.09 per 1,000 total births.