Baby brain research unit opens at the Rosie Hospital

A new centre dedicated to studying brain development in newborn babies and assessing those at risk of brain damage has officially opened in Cambridge. The Evelyn Perinatal Imaging Centre, at the Rosie Hospital, is equipped with non-invasive optical imaging scanners, research facilities and a laboratory. The centre's Dr Topun Austin said the unit could help babies deprived of oxygen or blood flow during delivery.
Cambridge baby brain research unit opens at the Rosie Hospital BBC website 2nd October 2013

1,120 new babies in East Cambridgeshire in 2011

In October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its annual statistics on births in England and Wales.

1,120 live births to East Cambridgeshire mums

Last year, there were 1,120 live births to women living in East Cambridgeshire. Congratulations if you were one of these mums! 

Across the whole of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, there were over 10,600 live births. Almost half of these babies were born to women living in the north east of the county (Huntingdonshire and Peterborough).

Rapid increase in number of babies in Cambridgeshire

Over the past five years, the number of babies born to mums living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has risen by 14.8 per cent - higher than the national average increase of 8.1 per cent.

Across Cambridgeshire, the biggest increase has been in East Cambridgeshire - a large increase of 22.3 per cent.

Across England and Wales, there have been a number of continuing trends

• The average age of women giving birth continued to rise. In 2011, the average age was 29.7 - the highest since records began in 1938;
• The percentage of births occurring outside of marriage reached a new record high (47.2 per cent). This has increased rapidly since the 1980s;
• At 25.5 per cent, the percentage of babies born to non-UK born women also broke a new record, with a strong increase since the late-1990s.

Defying trends, the fertility rate (the average number of children per women) fell in 2011 to 1.93, from 2.00 in 2010. This was the lowest rate since 2007 but remained higher than most of the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s.

More information can be found on the ONS website

Privately run Hinchingbrooke hospital in financial difficulties

Aim-listed Circle Health took over the running of Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire in February. The groundbreaking 10-year deal was widely seen as paving the way for other cash-strapped NHS hospitals to be taken over by private companies. But an ambitious target to turn a projected annual deficit of £10m into break-even in the first financial year has suffered a setback and the company’s losses doubled to £4.1m in the first six months of running the hospital. Hinchingbrooke has been forced to request a £4m cash advance from the local healthcare trust. Circle receives £80m a year in 12 monthly instalments for the management contract, but it said part of this has been brought forward to ease “cash flow problems”.
FT.com 26/10/12

New Rosie Birth Centre now open

The new state-of-the-art Rosie Birth Centre on the ground floor of the new three-storey hospital expansion at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, opened on 3rd September and the first baby was born there at 6.04pm. The last baby was delivered in the old Midwifery-Led Birthing Unit (MLBU) earlier the same day.

Child Health Profile for Cambridgeshire

Child and Maternal Health Observatory, March 2012 (www.chimat.org.uk)

Child Poverty*: better rate than the England average

13.9% of children aged under 16 years living in poverty in 2009 (21.9% England)

*Poverty: % of children in families in receipt of either out of work benefits or tax credits where there reported income is less than 60% median income

Child Obesity: lower rate than the England average

7.6% of children aged 4-5 years (reception class) were obese in 2010/11 (9.4% England) while 15.8% of children aged 10-11 years (Year 6) were obese (19.0% England)

Breastfeeding initiation rates: much higher than average

In Cambridgeshire, 81.3% of mothers in 2010/11 initiated breastfeeding when their baby was born (74.5% England). By 6-8 weeks after birth, 58.4% of mothers were still breastfeeding

                                                                                                                                                                               

Rates of smoking in pregnancy: lower than average

11.0% of mothers in 2010/11 were smoking at the time of delivery – lower than the England rate of 13.6%

Levels of Children’s Tooth Decay: Similar to the England average

At age 12, the mean number of decayed, missing of filled teeth in Cambridgeshire children was 0.5 – slightly lower than the England average of 0.7 (2008/09)

Percentage of Children Achieving a Good level of Development at Age 5: Similar to average

60.0% of five year olds  achieved a good level of development within Early Years Foundation Stage Profile in 2011 (59.0% England)

Immunisation Rates: Similar to average

In 2010/11, 88.9% of children had received their MMR immunisation by age 2 (England 89.1%) while 96.2% had received immunisation against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, pertussis and Hib (England 96.0%)

Participation in Sport: Worse than the national average

48.7% of school-age children participated in at least 3 hours of sport/PE per week in 2009/10 (55.1% England)