Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ13: Health of babies in Hong Kong
Following is a question by the Hon Li Kwok-ying and a written reply
by the Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, (in
the absence of the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food), at the
Legislative Council meeting today (May 9):
Question:
Will the Government inform this Council whether it knows the
following in each of the past three years:
(a) the respective numbers of spontaneous and induced abortions;
(b) the number of children who died before reaching the age of five,
broken down by the causes of death;
(c) the number of babies who were born in Hong Kong and diagnosed as
having hereditary diseases, and the percentage of such number in the
number of new-born babies in that year; and
(d) the number of married couples both the husband and wife of which had
undergone body check-ups before the wife became pregnant, and the measures
taken by the Government to promote such check-ups?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) According to the statistics kept by the Department of Health (DH), the
numbers of legal termination of pregnancy cases between 2003 and 2005 are
as follows-
Year Number of legal termination
of pregnancy cases
2003 17 420
2004 15 880
2005 14 190
According to the statistics of Hospital Authority (HA) hospitals,
hospitals of Correctional Services Department and private hospitals, the
numbers of persons (*1) related to spontaneous abortion between 2003 and
2005 are as follows-
Year Number of persons related to
spontaneous abortion
2003 3 033
2004 3 439
2005 3 334
(b) As compared with some major developed countries like the United
Kingdom, the United States, Australia and Singapore, the mortality rate of
children aged under five in Hong Kong is generally on the low end. The
numbers of registered deaths of children aged under five between 2003 and
2005 are as follows-
Year Number of registered deaths of
children aged under five
2003 156
2004 142
2005 175
The number of registered deaths by causes of death are tabulated
according to the age groups of the children (aged under one and aged one
to four) in Annex 1 and Annex 2 respectively.
(c) According to the data of the past 25 years provided by the Clinical
Genetic Service of the DH, there were more than 600 types of genetic
disease detected in babies born in Hong Kong. The common ones are
Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) Deficiency, Congenital
Hypothyroidism, Down's Syndrome, Cleft Lip and Palate, etc.
In the past three years, the number of babies and percentage
diagnosed with G6PD Deficiency or Congenital Hypothyroidism are shown in
Annex 3.
Currently, there is no data on the number of patients with Down's
Syndrome and Cleft Lip and Palate for the past three years. However, the
approximate incidence rates of these diseases in Hong Kong are shown in
Annex 4.
(d) In Hong Kong, the body check-up service for married couples is mainly
provided by private hospitals, private medicine practitioners and the
Family Planning Association of Hong Kong (FPAHK).
We do not keep statistics on the number of married couples with both
the husband and wife known to have undergone body check-ups before the
wife became pregnant. The numbers of persons who received pre-pregnancy
check-up at the FPAHK are as follows-
Year Number of persons
2003 4 027
2004 3 938
2005 4 357
In addition, women health services are available in the DH's three
Woman Health Centres and ten Maternal and Child Health Centres. Such
services include health promotion and disease prevention services to cater
for the health needs of women at various stages as well as pre-pregnancy
check-up service for women who need such service. The Administration and
the FPAHK also remind the public of the importance of pre-pregnancy
check-up through various channels such as leaflets, exhibitions and other
promotional activities.
Note:
(*1) The figures do not equate to the numbers of cases involved, but
represent the numbers of in-patient discharges and deaths related to
spontaneous abortion.
Ends/Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Issued at HKT 13:11
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