Dudley Strategy for Tackling Health Inequalities 2010-15

- Giving priority to pre and post-natal interventions such as intensivehome visiting programmes (eg. family nurse partnership) that reduceadverse outcomes of pregnancy in infancy).- Providing paid parental leave in the first year of life with a minimumincome for healthy living.- Providing support to families through evidence based parentingprogrammes.- Developing programmes for the transition to school.Early Years; What Do We Know About Dudley?Maternal health and antenatal care:There is an apparently high rate of late booking for antenatal care in Dudleyespecially among women from minority ethnic communities. Data from DudleyGroup of Hospitals Foundation Trust and Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust indicatesthat in 2009-10 only 64% of pregnant women had had an assessment of their healthand social care risks and needs by 13 weeks.Dudley‟s smoking in pregnancy rate at the time of birth is not different from the WestMidlands average and is declining, but in 2009/10 there were almost a fifth ofmothers (18.3%) smoking at delivery.Under 18 conception rate for Dudley is declining but remains above the Englandrate. The under 18 years conception rate for the three years 2004-2006 was 47.7per 1.000. There were 819 conceptions over the three years, 53% of which werebirths (435). So there are an average of 145 births to teenage mothers in Dudleyeach year.26