Earl Baldwin of Bewdleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
In the light of the evidence of high perinatal mortality in Birmingham reported in Why do Birmingham Babies Die? by the West Midlands Perinatal Audit Service, whether the epidemiological analysis commissioned from this service and the further systematic review of the causes of prematurity and still births commissioned from the Institute of Public Health, will examine the fluoridation of the local water supply among other possible causes. [HL3447]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Hayman)Birmingham Health Authority is addressing the city's high levels of perinatal mortality through research, into the causes and through investment in key interventions, as set out in the Authority's Health Improvement Programme. Research is being concentrated on factors where there is already evidence of adverse effect on perinatal mortality, particularly poverty, ethnic and cultural factors, smoking behaviour and nutrition.
The Institute of Public Health at Birmingham University is investigating psycho-social factors relating to prematurity, and interventions which will be effective in addressing those factors. Neither that review, nor the analyses undertaken by the West Midlands Perinatal Audit Unit, have examined fluoridation, since attention is being focused on known risk factors applicable to Birmingham rather than on speculative investigation.