Overall, the neonatal mortality rate has fallen by 13% since 2013, and the extended perinatal mortality rate (which includes all babies who die before, during or shortly after birth) has reduced by 21% across the same timeframe.
There has also been a welcome reduction in the rate of neonatal mortality for babies born at 28 weeks to 31 weeks, falling from 31.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023 to 23.4 per 1,000 live births in 2024, after several years of fairly static rates in this group.
Despite these areas of welcome progress, there is still significant cause for concern:
While the neonatal mortality gap has narrowed slightly between the most and least deprived groups, the rates are still significantly higher in the most deprived areas (2.14 per 1,000 live births) compared to the least deprived (1.18 per 1,000).
Babies with Black and Asian ethnicity have higher mortality rates than babies of white ethnicity.
Prematurity is a significant driver of neonatal mortality, with the highest rates of neonatal death occurring before 37 weeks of pregnancy, and particularly at the earliest gestations.
There is significant variation in neonatal mortality rates when comparing Trusts and Health Boards which run a comparable level of service. Variation is particularly acute in Trusts and Health Boards which provide the highest levels of intensive care, which will be caring for the sickest and most premature babies.
Caroline Lee-Davey, Bliss Chief Executive, said: “While today’s findings show that progress is being made, this progress is not being made equitably. It is still an unacceptable truth that the chance of a baby dying in the UK is impacted by their ethnicity and where they are from, and there is urgent need for more focused research to understand the reasons for this.
“We are also concerned to see the significant variation in neonatal mortality rates between Trusts and Health Boards. This suggests there’s much more work to do to ensure that neonatal services are organised in a way which provides optimal care, and that there is consistency in care delivery between units. We fully support MBRRACE-UK's recommendations that NICU capacity and resource reflect the increasing number of babies born before 24 weeks who now receive survival focused care, and that the BAPM Perinatal Optimisation Pathway is fully implemented by all Trusts and Health Boards.
“Behind every number in this report is a family grieving the loss of a much-wanted baby. We urge Governments across the UK to redouble their efforts to reduce neonatal mortality rates, and in particular the disparities in these rates by ethnicity and deprivation, to give every baby an equal chance of survival”.
