A difficult but important subject to mention is before Solihull’s Health and Wellbeing Board next week (30 July). The report and slides for the meeting are attached.
I have provided the link to main report here, this provides the context for the agenda item and describes the importance of the work being undertaken. It aims to update the Health and Wellbeing Board on the work to address infant mortality in Solihull.
The report summarises the data, causes, current support and potential evidence based interventions that reduce infant mortality and the proportion of low-birth-weight babies in the borough.
240730-Infant_Mortality_Report-HealthWellbeing_Board-UPLOAD.pdf (solihull.gov.uk)
This is important because in Solihull, the infant mortality rate is 4.6 deaths under 1 year per 1,000 live births, higher than the England average of 3.9.
It states the risk factors in Infant Mortality includes Ethnicity, Smoking in Pregnancy, Obesity and being overweight during pregnancy, and Maternal age (under 20 and over 40 years of age).
Work being done to tackle the issue is shown at paragraph 3.6.2 of the report and incorporates scoping and strengthening the current offer for:
· Pre-conception – to support parents prepare for a healthy pregnancy.
· Pregnancy – staying healthy during pregnancy and preparing for parenthood.
· Infancy – the offer for families for the first months of life.
I have attached slides to be presented at the meeting by Denise Milnes – Strategic Lead for Children’s Public Health and Dr Deepthi Jyothish – BSol ICB – SRO for Infant Mortality/Health Inequalities.
Ken Hawkins 