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More babies dying in inner city
Widening gap found as infant mortality in deprived areas with many Asians probed Amy Binns BABIES born in the centre of Bradford are almost five times more likely to die than those born in more affluent parts of the district, such as Ilkley and Craven.
And while infant deaths are dropping nationally to about five per 1,000 babies, in the Bradford district numbers have risen over the past 10 years to about nine per 1,000, a total of 68 deaths in 2003.
The figures were revealed yesterday at the first meeting of the Bradford District Infant Mortality Commission, set up by Bradford Vision to examine how the district's unusually high numbers of deaths caused by infections, heart and respiratory problems and birth defects could be reduced.
Helen Brown, of the Bradford Health Informatics Service, said the death rates were worst in the inner city areas of Keighley and Bradford, especially the Bradford Moor, Toller and Manningham areas.
"More affluent areas have falling infant mortality rates; the most deprived areas have increasing levels," she said. "The gap is widening. Inequality is increasing."
Dr Liz Kernohan, director of public health at Bradford North Primary Care Trust, said the Commission, set up earlier this year, had a hard task ahead since it was difficult to prove that deprivation caused infant deaths.
"Virtually every disease, except breast cancer, shows a similar relationship with deprivation," she said.
"Disadvantage encompasses so many other factors: mothers won't have the money to have a good diet; they are less likely to have a good education; they are less likely to breastfeed."
The Commission outlined factors it considered might have a bearing on the numbers of infant deaths. As well as deprivation they will examine ethnicity, cultural factors and access to health services.
But Dr Kernohan said that although many of the worst affected areas have high numbers of Asian people it was difficult to separate out ethnicity from deprivation.
"Not all Asian groups have high levels of infant mortality," she added. "Pakistanis do, but Bangladeshis don't."
The Commission, which will meet several times over the next year, is considering examining studies that have looked at the effects of inter-family marriage on infant death. It is known marriage between cousins can cause some congenital problems, such as sickle-cell anaemia, but it is a sensitive issue among the Asian population.
Other studies suggest a difficulty accessing health services may be a problem, as early research in Bradford shows that first-generation Pakistani women are much more likely to suffer the death of a child than Pakistani-origin women born and brought up in Britain.
Dr Kernohan said: "Our hospitals do very well for small babies. What they don't do so well is make sure that care for babies is more accessible and friendly for mothers."
Ms Brown has also compared Bradford with areas with similar types of population and found it only slightly worse.
But when she compared the district with other severely deprived areas she found Mansfield, a former mining area in Nottinghamshire, and Doncaster, with similar levels of poverty, had lower levels of deaths. Both have a largely white population of about 98 per cent, compared with Bradford's 78 per cent.
Ms Brown said the Commission could examine these areas to see if there was something different happening there that could help Bradford.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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