Targeted support could reduce infant mortality gap across England, study finds

A study published in The Lancet Regional Health Europe has identified four key factors that together account for more than one-third of the inequalities in infant deaths between the most and least deprived areas of England.

Researchers say targeted interventions to address these factors – teenage pregnancy, maternal depression, preterm birth and smoking during pregnancy – could go a significant way to reduce inequalities, although higher-level structural changes to address socioeconomic inequality will also be necessary.

The UK currently ranks 10th out of 38 OECD countries for infant mortality (deaths in children under the age of one), with four deaths recorded per 1,000 live births.

Children born to mothers who are poor, black or young are known to be at increased risk, but where children are born also matters: according to ONS data for 2022, the mortality rate for infants in the most deprived 10% of England was almost three times higher than for infants living in the least deprived 10%.

“The inequality in infant mortality is at an alarming level,” said Dr Frederick Ho at the University of Glasgow’s School of Health, who led the study. “We also know that infant mortality is an indicator of more general effectiveness in the healthcare system. We wanted to understand the reasons for this inequality, as this could have policy implications for whether we could use the healthcare system to reduce or to eliminate it.”

The study, published in The Lancet Regional Health Europe, found that infants in the most deprived areas had double the mortality rate of those in the least deprived areas during the study period, and identified four factors – preterm birth, smoking during pregnancy, teenage pregnancy, and maternal depression – which collectively accounted for 38% of this inequality.