Infant death rate near worst in EU

Britain has the second highest infant mortality rate in the EU, according to figures published yesterday by the office of national statistics suggesting a failure to keep pace with improvements in healthcare in neighbouring countries.

In 1999 there were 5.8 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births in the UK, compared with 2.9 in Sweden, 3.6 in Finland and an average of 5.0 across the 15 member states of the EU. Only Greece had a poorer record with 5.9 deaths per 1,000 live births.

The ONS said there had been a sharp drop in infant mortality throughout Europe over the past 40 years, but the improvement was greatest in southern countries that used to have the highest rates.

In 1960 the UK had the fifth lowest infant mortality rate - at 22.5 per 1,000 live births, compared with 77.5 in Portugal, 43.9 in Italy and 43.7 in Spain. By 1999 the rate in those countries had dipped below Britain.

Infant mortality is generally regarded as an indicator of poverty and low standards of healthcare services during pregnancy and childbirth.

The ONS also reported a sharp fall in fertility in England and Wales to the lowest rate since records started in 1924. Last year there were 604,000 live births, compared with 622,000 in 1999. If patterns persist, the average woman will have 1.66 children during her life. In 1990 the figure was 1.84; at its peak in 1964 it was 2.93.

Women giving birth are now on average nearly three years older than in the early 1970s. The mean age is 29.1 years. In 2000 the proportion of births outside marriage was 39%, compared with 28% in 1990 and 10% in 1977.

The ONS also published a study of attempts by adopted children to trace their natural parents after becoming entitled to apply for birth records at 18. More than 70,000 people adopted outside their natural family have applied for their records since this became possible under the 1975 Children Act. This included one in three women and one in five men adopted since 1952.

More than 18,000 adoptees and 8,000 relatives have put their names on a register hoping to be put in contact with each other. There have been 490 successful matches -about one a week since the register was introduced.