[makomk]

It seems like the Guardian is spreading misinformation for election reasons anyway, judging from the comments - the increase in infant mortality it claims is well within the range of normal year-to-year variation, which is presumably also why an article that claims it's the "legacy of 14 tears of Tory cruelty" uses a claimed increase over just one year.

[lostlogin]

How would you describe the effects on the NHS of 14 years of Tory rule?

‘Cruelty’ is a very emotive word obviously.

[Dalewyn]

Honestly, I don't care one way or another whether it's safer to give birth now than before (that said, it probably is in 99% of cases).

No, I care more and am thoroughly disgusted about the fact a fundamental thing as childbirth is used for political points.

[gizajob]

The guardian is spreading loony-leftist misinformation on a permanent basis, never mind the election. It’s like standing on shifting sands that one really does have to be a seriously critical thinker to see through. Reading it is a recipe for becoming mind-addled, probably more mind-addled than reading the Daily Mail which at least is obvious in its simple right-wing messaging. Plus, there’s a reason why The Guardian is free… (said as someone who reads it daily).

[gizajob]

Plus I’m already getting downvoted but case in point from even the two articles posted in this thread, in terms of shifting sands of Hegelian contradiction which it peddles.

“Economists across the west are alarmed by falling birthrates, which makes the two-child benefits limit peculiarly vindictive.”

BUT

The best thing to do for the planet is have one less child.

[tweetle_beetle]

It's not as clear cut as you are making out and I would suggest that you are spreading your own misinformation.

There have only been 3 year on year rises between 1980 and 2014 (increases of 0.1, 0.1 and 0.2 infant deaths per 1000 live births) [1].

Since then, there have been 2 sustained rises over several years, totalling 0.3 in each case. The second of which is ongoing and could continue to rise - we lack data from 2023.

These are anomalous given the decades long downward trend in this type of mortality.

(There are other very significant issues in maternal healthcare from the same period. A corresponding upward trend in maternal mortality in recent years [2]. And black women in the UK are nearly four times more likely than white women to die within six weeks of giving birth, based on figures from 2018-2020.)

Call it what you want, but outcomes surrounding a basic biological function getting worse after 14 years of control by a single party in one of the richest countries in the world is worth covering.

This isn't partisan politics either. Compare these non-opinion headlines from the famously left-leaning (sic) Telegraph:

- 2011 - Infant mortality falls by 60 per cent in a generation [3] - 2024 - British infants more likely to die before first birthday than those in other developed countries [4] > The UK’s global ranking has gradually fallen from 23rd in 2015 when the infant mortality rate was 3.9 deaths per 1,000 births. While other countries improved, Britain’s rate stagnated before it fell during the pandemic back to figures not seen since 2012.

Even though they ultimately will tend to point the blame in different directions, they are reporting the same underlying story.

[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsde...

[2] https://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj.q62

[3] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/8388584/Infant-...

[4] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/05/british-infants-...