Infant mortality rates on the rise in England, with ethnicity and geography significant factors

> In England and Wales in 2022:

* **2,349 infant deaths** (aged under 1 year) and **1,019 child deaths** (aged 1 to 15 years) occurred; these figures are higher than in 2021 (2,323 and 852, respectively).
* There were **3.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births**, and **10 child deaths per 100,000 population**; higher than in 2021 (3.7 and 8, respectively).
* The **neonatal mortality rate** (aged under 28 days) was **2.9 deaths per 1,000 live births**; the mortality rate was generally lower for neonates of longer gestations.
* The highest rates of infant mortality were among infants of **Black ethnicity**, with a birthweight under **2,500 grammes**, or with a mother aged **under 20 years**.
* The main cause of death among children aged 28 days to 15 years continued to be **congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities**.
* The mortality rate for infants living in the **10% most deprived areas in England** was almost **three times higher** than for infants living in the **10% least deprived areas**; a wider difference than seen during any of the previous 12 years.

~ [ONS](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/childhoodinfantandperinatalmortalityinenglandandwales/2022#main-points)

To save you a click the article says it’s mainly caused by poverty induced malnutrition.

Some would argue this shows more people are having babies among groups who can’t afford them and shouldn’t be bringing children into the world at a time where a cost of living crisis means that even some struggling middle class families are opting out of children due to cost*

* I don’t necessarily agree with that argument but it will be a LOT of people’s first reaction

The wealthy have been riding out the storm of the fall of the NHS with a mixture of private healthcare and hospitals in wealthy areas. Let’s face it the NHS Chelsea is not the same as the NHS QE2 in woolwich.

This isn’t surprising. Population demographics are changing and ethnic minorities in this country have higher infant mortality rates than whites.

When it comes to congenital abnormalities, some groups are far, far more likely to have them than others which isn’t helping. For example, Pakistanis in the UK account for 4% of births but an insane 30% of the birth defects as a result of their rampant consanguineous marriages (marrying your cousin). With the number of Pakistanis in the country tripling in the last 30 years plus all the increases in other groups, changes like the one in the article are inevitable.

Every politician that schemed and planned the disintegration of the NHS should be found and jailed for the damage they have done.

Race and Geography has ALWAYS been a factor.

Black women far less likely to be prescribed pain relief for example, West Indian women seen as “Difficult” so ignored more, East Asian women least likely to make a fuss, so ignored more….

Birth rates for white women have always been better in this country, so any other factor exposed by the article is just an expansion of this

Nothing to do with viability or affordability
No one should be malnourished in a “rich” Western country, and suggesting that the “wrong” people are breeding just feeds the racism

(Just for flavour, I studied pre-med and this was a case study about 15 years ago when it was a genuine problem that has not been resolved. I was utterly disgusted and appalled at learning this information)