BIRTHS are booming in Bradford which has the fifth highest fertility rate in the country, according to newly-published figures.

The Office of National Statistics has issued data for 2014 which reveals the average number of babies per mother in Bradford is 2.24 compared to a national Total Fertility Rate figure of 1.82.

But the figures also show that the percentage of babies born under 2.5kg is 8.2 per cent compared to a national figure of 7.0 per cent.

Statistics for the Total Fertility Rate across West Yorkshire, score Bradford at 2.24, Calderdale at 2.03, Kirklees at 1.96, Wakefield at 1.91 and Leeds at 1.77.

The percentage of babies born weighing below 2.5kg (5.5lbs) across West Yorkshire is Kirklees 8.8 per cent, Bradford 8.2 per cent, Leeds 8.0 per cent, Calderdale 7.1 per cent and Wakefield 6.5 per cent.

In a separate table of results Bradford is the lowest scoring West Yorkshire area for babies born out of wedlock with a score of 41.8 per cent.

MORE HEALTH HEADLINES

A total of 60 per cent of all babies in Wakefield were born outside marriage in 2014, followed by 53.2 per cent in Calderdale, 48.9 per cent in Leeds and 45.2 per cent in Kirklees.

Medical research has suggested particular areas in Bradford are particularly affected by low birth weight problems which could be linked to pollution as well as lifestyles.

Another fact is that while nationally, one in five women are clinically obese during pregnancy, in Bradford that figure rises to one in four.

And paradoxically, many of those overweight mothers-to-be are actually malnourished because their diets, while fattening, are very poor quality, which in turn leads to them bearing underweight babies.

These babies are then often over-fed on poor food, which then leads to them becoming obese.

Gill Thornton is programme manager for Better Start Bradford which works with families in Bowling and Barkerend, Bradford Moor, and Little Horton, focusing on about 15,000 children, from before birth to three-years-old.

"It is an issue that you can have obese mothers, but the babies are not well nourished as the mothers are not eating the right food or getting the right nutrition," she said.

"We really need to get the message across that what happens in the womb can affect people entire development.

"Our role is not concerned with if people are married or not, we are interested in the health of pregnant women and supporting them in all sorts of ways, from trying to protect them from the dangers of emissions from vehicles to issues of mental health."

Councillor Ralph Berry, Bradford Council's executive member for children's services, said the city had to focus on improving the well-being of pregnant women in every area, from medical health to reducing domestic stress.

"Every child needs love and support from the very start and we've really got to do everything we can to raise awareness of these issues," Cllr Berry said.