Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 14 July, 2015 (HL1000), what is the latest information they have regarding high risk groups suffering neural tube defects at birth.
The National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Disease Registration Service (NCARDRS) report, published by Public Health England in April 2015, reports statistics on congenital anomalies. A copy of the report is attached. Maternal age is a risk indicator for congenital anomalies. NCARDRS provides a breakdown of birth prevalence of all anomalies by maternal age. It reports a variation in the prevalence of nervous system congenital anomalies between maternal ages, with the prevalence in 2015 varying between 16 births per 10,000 total births for the 35-39 age category, to 44 per 10,000 for the under 20 age category.
Additional information on high risk groups suffering neural tube defects at birth is not reported.