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Baby death rates stall in England and Wales, with poorest families hit hardest

Baby death rates stall in England and Wales, with poorest families hit hardest

The government’s pledge to reduce baby deaths is under fresh scrutiny after new figures revealed babies in the poorest areas are still twice as likely to die before turning one.

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Ruairidh Pritchard

Published: May 28, 2026 at 7:26 AM

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Baby death rates have stopped falling in England and Wales, with new figures exposing both a widening inequality gap and a failure to meet key government targets.

New data from the Office for National Statistics shows infant mortality remained unchanged in 2024, while babies in the poorest areas were more than twice as likely to die before their first birthday.

Although deaths among older children have edged down slightly, progress for babies has flatlined. Stillbirth rates remain well above the government’s 2025 target, and ministers’ ambition to dramatically cut neonatal deaths is now off track.

Progress has stalled and targets are slipping

There were 2,318 infant deaths in England and Wales in 2024, almost identical to 2,320 in 2023.

The infant mortality rate remained at 3.9 deaths per 1,000 live births. Neonatal mortality, referring to babies who die within their first 28 days, also stayed unchanged at 3.0 per 1,000 live births.

Stillbirth rates showed no meaningful improvement either, standing at 3.9 per 1,000 births in 2024 compared with 4.0 the year before.

While rates are lower than in 2010, the ONS states there has been “little progress” towards the government’s ambition since 2020, marking five years of stagnation.

The stillbirth pledge has not been met

The government pledged to halve England’s 2010 stillbirth rate by 2025, setting a target of 2.6 stillbirths per 1,000 births.

The latest data shows that goal remains out of reach.

In England, the stillbirth rate was 3.8 per 1,000 births in 2024, significantly above the promised target. Across England and Wales, the rate was 3.9 per 1,000, barely changed year on year.

With 2025 now here, the figures underline how far short the commitment has fallen.

The first weeks of life remain the most dangerous

The first month of life continues to carry the greatest risk. In 2024, 76% of infant deaths happened within the first 28 days.

Babies born before 24 weeks faced the highest mortality rate, at 789.6 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Low birthweight was also strongly linked to infant death. Babies weighing under 2.5kg had a mortality rate of 28.7 per 1,000 live births, compared with 0.8 among babies weighing 2.5kg or more.

Poverty continues to shape survival

The clearest divide is between rich and poor families.

In England, babies living in the 10% most deprived areas had an infant mortality rate of 6.0 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024.

In the 10% least deprived areas, the rate was 2.6 per 1,000.

That means babies born in the poorest communities were more than twice as likely to die before their first birthday.

Infants born to mothers aged under 20 had the highest mortality rate by maternal age, at 6.2 per 1,000 live births.

Calls for urgent national action

Laura-Rose Thorogood, CEO of Make Birth Better, said the figures show the need for major change across maternity and neonatal services.

There is seismic structural change and investment that is required to fix maternity and neonatal services, to reduce mortality and still birth rates not just at a localised but national level.

Laura-Rose Thorogood (she/her), CEO, Make Birth Better

She said action must include investment in “recruiting and retaining staff” and providing “safe working hours for midwives”.

Without that commitment, she warned, “these rates will continue to stay static, or indeed decline — leaving more families facing loss, and traumatised for a lifetime.”

What this means for families

Infant mortality today is far lower than it was decades ago. But the promised acceleration in improvement has not materialised.

Five years after progress began to stall, the government’s stillbirth target remains unmet, neonatal ambitions are off track, and inequality continues to define a baby’s chances of survival.

For families, particularly those in deprived communities, the message from the data is stark: improvement has paused, and the gap between rich and poor remains firmly in place.

Authors

Ruairidh PritchardDigital Growth Lead

Ruairidh is the Digital Lead on MadeForMums. He works with a team of fantastically talented content creators and subject-matter experts on MadeForMums.