Latest news with #births
BBC News
7 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Births at St Mary's Birth Centre paused for 'up to six months'
Births at a baby unit in Leicestershire will be temporarily halted from next month."Long-standing challenges" at the St Mary's Birth Centre, in Melton, have "worsened in recent months", University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) NHS Trust said on include difficulties in achieving "safe" staffing levels, with about 30% of the team "unavailable due to maternity leave, sickness, or planned absences", a spokesperson said. The trust said it would be pausing births and in-patient postnatal care at the centre from 7 July. 'Difficult but necessary' The spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service there was "appropriate staffing in place" to maintain services until pause is expected to last for "up to" six months while work is carried out to determine next steps. Staff at the unit - where 1% of births in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland take place - will be redeployed during this time. Community antenatal and non-inpatient postnatal services, such as infant feeding support, in Melton will continue 21 individuals and families who have booked or expressed interest in using the centre after 7 July have been contacted, the spokesperson added. Julie Hogg, chief nurse at UHL, said: "Pausing births and in-patient care at St Mary's Birth Centre is a difficult but necessary step. "The decision is no reflection of the commitment and care offered by the St Mary's team. "We have appropriate staffing in place to keep these services running until 7 July, when the pause will come into effect."Last year, 92 births occurred at the unit, compared to 9,331 across the Leicester Royal Infirmary and Leicester General Hospital, UHL added.
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: The hospitals where nearly nine out of ten babies are being born to non-British mothers
British mothers are now outnumbered by foreign-born mums at nearly one in seven maternity units, analysis shows. At Northwick Park Hospital, in the London 's Harrow borough, a staggering 84.2 per cent of live births in 2023 were to non-UK mothers. Behind Northwick Park was Newham's University Hospital (77.1 per cent) Hillingdon Hospital (72.1 per cent) and North Middlesex Hospital (71.2 per cent). Nearly one-third of all births in England and Wales are now to mothers born abroad, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says. In 2003, before immigration spiralled to all-time highs, that figure stood just shy of a fifth. India is the most common country of origin for non-UK born mothers, just ahead of Pakistan, Romania, Nigeria and Poland. When the ONS figures are broken down by hospital, 27 different sites register rates exceeding 50 per cent. This includes St Mary's, an NHS hospital in Manchester which delivers more babies than anywhere else in the country. Nine of the ten hospitals with the highest non-UK mother births are in London. Birmingham's City Hospital (64.5 per cent) in Winson Green ranks eighth. The other end of the spectrum is localised, too, with three of the five lowest rates in Wales. Royal Glamorgan in Llantrisant (5.7 per cent) ranked last, according to MailOnline's breakdown of all 269 facilities. Exact figures weren't supplied for dozens of sites with too few births to analyse. An ONS spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Almost a third of babies born in 2023 in England and Wales were to non-UK born women, a slight increase on the percentage in 2022. 'This is a continuation of the long-term trend of the percentage of live births to non-UK-born mothers generally increasing. 'While our birth data show us the parents' country of birth, it doesn't give us a picture of the family's ethnicity or migration history, and it's worth noting that not all women born outside the UK will be recent immigrants.' India remained the most common country of birth for non-UK-born mothers (3.6 per cent of all live births) and fathers (3.9 per cent) in England and Wales last year. Pakistan was second again. Ghana entered the top 10 most common countries for non-UK born mothers for the first time in 2023, in ninth place with 0.6 per cent of live births. But Germany fell out of the top 10, having been there since ONS records began for this measure in 2003. Albania ranked at number seven, up from eighth in 2022, having entered the top 10 for the first time in 2021. Afghanistan was at number eight, falling from seventh place in 2022. Professor Sarah Harper, an expert on populations and migration at the University of Oxford, told MailOnline: 'Non-UK born mothers have always tended to have a higher total fertility rate than UK-born mothers. 'This is particularly the case with South Asian-born mothers and since Brexit the UK has taken more immigrants from South Asia and fewer from EU countries.' There were just 591,072 live births in England and Wales in 2023, the lowest number since 1977 (569,259). This number also represented a decrease of 14,407 compared to the year prior. Professor Harper said this trend falls down to economic factors such as affordability but also a change in attitude to people wanting to have fewer, if any children. The total fertility rate (TFR) in England and Wales dropped to 1.44 children per woman, its lowest value since records began in 1938. Freefalling birth rates have triggered doomsday warnings about population collapse, which demographers believe will devastate Western economies. If the downward spiral continues it may leave countries with too few younger people to work, pay tax and look after the elderly.
Forbes
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Oh Baby! Social Security Administration Announces Most Popular Baby Names Of 2024
The most popular baby names for 2024 are... Once again, the most popular names for babies born in the United States are Liam and Olivia—2024 marks the sixth consecutive year both names topped the lists. The second most popular names, Emma and Noah, also didn't budge. The rankings are measured by the Social Security Administration (SSA) data based on applications for Social Security cards. According to agency data, Social Security numbers were recorded for 3,612,777 new babies, with male births (1,845,330) edging out female births (1,767,447) in 2024. That reflects an increase over 2023, which recorded 3,595,309 new babies. It reverses—just slightly—a trend of fewer births in the U.S. since the highest year on record, 2007, which welcomed 4,330,961 new babies. Number of Social Security card holders born in the U. S. by year of birth and sex Here's the top 10 list for boys: And here's the top 10 list for girls: If those names look familiar, they are—the names are similar to those in 2024 with one exception: Luna dropped out of the top 10 most popular names of girls, replaced by Sofia which enters at number 10 for the first time. For purposes of the list, variations and alternate spellings are treated as different names. That's why Liam (1) and William (10) made the list. Ditto for Amelia (3) and Mia (5)—The Princess Diaries, anyone? (Mila (#33), Millie (#86), Lia (#187) and Amy (#228) are also considered variations of Amelia). That also explains why you'll see both Sophia (6) and Sofia (10) on the list. There is an exception to this rule. Name data are tabulated from the "First Name" field of the Social Security card application, which doesn't allow for hyphens and spaces. That means Julie-Anne, Julie Anne, and Julieanne are counted as a single entry. According to the agency, the top 1,000 names represent about 71% of all names of U.S. births in 2024. There is a slight variation when it comes to gender, with the most popular boy names representing over 75% of all names and the most popular girl names representing just under 67%. Names included in the database are those where the year of birth, sex, and state of birth are on record, and where the given name is at least 2 characters long. And, data is restricted to births in the 50 States and District of Columbia—names from U. S. territories are not included in the national data. Each year, the list also shares the names that changed the most in popularity. A change in popularity is indicated by the difference, either an increase or decrease, in ranks from one year to the next. The names that changed the most in popularity for boys are: The boys' name Truce, which means 'peace', rose 11,118 spots from last year's position to 991 overall. The names that changed the most in popularity for girls are: The name Ailany, which has Hawaiian origins, means 'chief.' Social Security began compiling the baby name list in 1997, with names dating back to 1880. At the time of a child's birth, parents supply the name to the agency when applying for a child's Social Security card, thus making Social Security America's source for the most popular baby names. If you head over to the site, you can find data ranging as far back as 1880. Be prepared – it's addictive. The lists are compiled from names on Social Security card applications. Today, getting a Social Security number at birth is so streamlined that the application typically happens when you submit information for the birth certificate. If you decline to get a Social Security number for your child when you submit information for the birth certificate, you can always apply later, but that's a little more complicated and time-consuming since the Social Security Administration will have to verify your child's birth certificate. That could be even more of a challenge if Social Security Administration offices close due to potential budget cuts (a charge that the SSA has labeled as a 'false'). You can start the process online, but if you cannot apply online, you can fill out Form SS-5. If your child is over the age of 12 when you make the application, the child has to appear in person for an interview even if you're the person signing the application on your child's behalf. You can find more information here. If your child is adopted, the SSA can assign your child an SSN before the adoption is complete, but you may want to wait until the adoption is finalized. At that time, you can apply for the number using your child's new name, with your name as parent. If you want to claim your child for tax purposes while the adoption is still pending, use IRS Form W-7A. Do not use Form W-7A if you will be able to obtain a SSN in time to file your tax return. Of course, unless you have a Gerber baby, the chances are slim that your little one will be headed to work immediately. So why get a Social Security number at birth? Taxes. Your child must have a Social Security number for you to claim your child as a dependent on your income tax return. If you can't claim your child as a dependent, you can't claim certain tax breaks, including the earned income tax credit (EITC), the child tax credit, and the additional child tax credit. Additionally, without a Social Security number for your child, you can't file as head of household (HOH) or qualifying widow(er) with a dependent child. Your child may also need a number if you plan to open a bank account (including a 529 savings plan) for them, buy savings bonds for their benefit, get medical coverage or insurance for them, or apply for government services on their behalf. If you don't want a Social Security number for your child, you don't have to get one. In particular, some folks may object to having a Social Security number assigned for religious reasons. You can request an exemption/waiver on this basis, but ironically, you must get a Social Security number. What happens, practically speaking, is that you must obtain a number solely to fill out Form 4029 for the waiver. Assuming you qualify for the exemption/waiver, you must notify SSA that this is your intention and that you do not want a card created or mailed. There is no charge from the Social Security Administration to apply for an SSN and card. There may be a charge from a professional, like a lawyer or adoption official, to assist you with paperwork or related details. But if someone attempts to charge you for the number, you can report it to the Office of the Inspector General online or via the hotline at 1.800.269.0271 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Nearly half a billion people have received Social Security numbers since the first number was issued on December 2, 1936. That first number, SSN 055-09-0001, belonged to John D. Sweeney, Jr. of New Rochelle, New York (fun fact: Sweeney never received Social Security benefits). The numbers on your card used to mean something—the first three digits were assigned by the geographical region where the person was residing when they obtained a number. Generally, numbers were assigned beginning in the northeast and moving westward. So people on the east coast tended to have the lowest numbers, and those on the west coast had the highest numbers. The remaining six digits in the number are more or less randomly assigned and were organized to facilitate the early manual bookkeeping operations associated with the creation of Social Security in the 1930s. In 2011, the SSA implemented a new assignment methodology for Social Security Numbers, which uses a new randomized assignment methodology. Social Security numbers are widely used today for various purposes, although only about 40 official uses are approved by Congress. The Social Security Act also allows state and local governments to require a Social Security number for tax and other reasons. As for the IRS? The agency didn't begin using Social Security numbers as official taxpayer identification numbers until 1962—you can blame computers for ushering those in at the agency.
Times
09-05-2025
- General
- Times
Births, marriages and deaths: May 9, 2025
TO MAKE an apt answer is a joy to anyone, and a word in season, how good it is! Proverbs 15.23 (NRSV) Bible verses are provided by the Bible Society COURT on 16th April 2025 to Florence (née Smith) and Marcus, a daughter, Alice Henrietta. HADDAD on 5th May 2025 to Rosemary (née Yazbek) and Walid, a daughter, Leila Marie. JOSEPH on 28th April 2025 to Michelle Melki and Charles Joseph, a daughter, Julia Winston and Anna Patricia Ladybird Hack (née Van Ravenstein)announce the birth of their son Presley Phoenix Hack, born 20th April 2025, brother to Lila Moss Hack. COLWILL Jean (née Shepherd) passed away on 2nd May 2025, aged 88. Much-loved wife of Michael. Stepmother and wonderful friend to Lorraine
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Number of births in US increased by 1% in 2024, according to CDC data
The number of births in the US increased slightly in 2024 to roughly 3.6 million, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The small increase of 1% in the number of births comes amid a long-term decline that began during the Great Recession, in about 2008. The provisional data was released on Wednesday. However, at least one demographer warned against drawing any conclusions about a trend from the data – noting that growing US families face sustained challenges in economic uncertainty, housing and childcare costs. 'There continues to be very fundamental transformations of fertility and the family in the US,' said Hans-Peter Kohler, a sociologist and professor who studies family demographics at the University of Pennsylvania. In the US, economic uncertainty, the cost of housing and childcare, and changes in how important people feel it is to have children have contributed to a decline in fertility 'that is shared among various high-income countries, and I would expect that to continue', Kohler added. The report showed a record-low number of teenage girls and young women gave birth, while the number of women aged 40-44 who gave birth increased – a trend that has continued almost uninterrupted since 1985. The number of births appears to be buoyed by Hispanic and Asian women, whose birth rates increased. The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics examines data based on nearly all births registered in 2024. The report builds on provisional data released in March. The slight year-over-year increase in births appears largely to be attributable to Hispanic and Asian mothers, for whom the number of births rose 4% and 5% respectively. The number of births declined 4% for Black women, 3% for American Indian and Alaska Native women, and less than 1% for white women. Births were essentially unchanged for Native Hawaiian and Pacific islander women. The CDC report did not address the reasons Americans choose to have children. However, growing US families face a bevy of challenges. The US is in the midst of a childcare crisis, with a shortage of workers, high cost and long wait lists for young children. Still, the Trump administration has proposed slashing education for even the nation's neediest children, by eliminating Head Start funding entirely. Relative to peer developed democracies, the US government already invests very little in early childhood education. Even so, the Trump administration is reportedly weighing options to push more married heterosexual couples to have babies, an idea supported by close advisers such as JD Vance, the vice-president, Elon Musk and the 'pro-natalist' movement. Kohler said he doubted relatively modest proposals would change the fertility rate. 'If one indeed wanted to make a profound stabilization or fertility incline one would have to do something very significant,' he said. Challenges families face, he said, 'are just of a different order of magnitude than the policies being discussed by the current administration'. The report also did not address the impact of abortion bans on birth rates. The supreme court overturned the national right to an abortion in 2022. Since then, a dozen states have enacted total abortion bans, mostly in the south and midwest. There is some research to suggest that birth rates and infant mortality in states with bans has increased more than expected, even as tens of thousands of women travel across state lines in an effort to terminate pregnancies.
