Maternal and pregnancy factors contributing to the association between area deprivation and infant mortality in England: a retrospective cohort study (1 October 2024)

Summary

Socioeconomic inequality in infant mortality in the UK is rising. This study published in The Lancet Regional Health Europe aimed to identify contributory maternal and pregnancy factors that can explain the known association between area deprivation and infant mortality.

In this large cohort study of 392,606 mother-child dyads in England, the study showed a marked inequality in infant mortality risk. Of the 23 factors examined, four factors were identified as potentially important: maternal depression, preterm birth, smoking during pregnancy, and maternal age younger than 20 years at childbirth. These four collectively accounted for almost one-third of the socioeconomic inequality in mortality.