ONS publishes report on childhood mortality

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has published its latest report on childhood mortality in England and Wales in 2016. It notes that neonatal deaths had increased to 2.7 per 1,000 live births, up from 2.6 per 1,000 in the previous year. Infant mortality also increased to 3.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, up from 3.7 in every 1,000 in 2015. Statistics on twin deaths in multiple birth babies for 2015 found that twins, triplets and more accounted for 14.4% of all neonatal deaths compared to 13.9% in 2014.

The main points of the report include:

- There were 2,651 infant deaths (deaths of those aged under one year) that occurred in England and Wales in 2016, compared with 2,578 in 2015 and 6,313 in 1986.

- In 2016, the infant mortality rate increased to 3.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared with 3.7 in 2015.

- Cancers remain the most common cause of death for children aged one to 15 years, accounting for 20.6% of deaths in 2016.

- For babies born in 2015 with a known gestation, the lowest infant mortality rate was to babies in the 'white other' ethnic group at 2.2 deaths per 1,000 live births.

The full report can be accessed here.