A quarter of all babies born in the UK are the children of immigrants as mothers from Poland, India and Pakistan give birth in record numbers



  • There were 200,000 births to immigrant mothers in Britain last year
  • Office for National Statistics reveals 4 in 10 of these children born in London
  • Fertility rates for non-UK born women are higher than for those born here
  • Polish women living in the UK gave birth to 23,000 children last year


By Sam Adams
PUBLISHED: 08:28 EST, 25 October 2012 | UPDATED: 20:00 EST, 25 October 2012
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Immigrant mothers: More than a quarter of births in Britain last year were to mothers born outside the UK

A record number of nearly 200,000 babies were born to immigrant mothers last year, figures revealed yesterday.

The children of women who were themselves born abroad made up nearly a quarter of all the babies born in Britain.

The report by the Office for National Statistics pointed to the growing impact on the population of the historically high levels of immigration in recent years.

It said understanding the impact of childbearing among migrants is ‘essential for planning services such as maternity provision and schools’. The figures showed that 24 per cent of births in 2011 were to women who had not themselves been born in Britain, which is the best indicator statisticians have for who is an immigrant.

In London, where a high proportion of migrants choose to live, the share of births to foreign-born mothers was well over half, 57 per cent.

The five countries from which the greatest numbers of foreign-born mothers came were Poland, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nigeria.

The share of new babies born to migrant mothers has more than doubled in 20 years and continues to shoot up.



Figures: Graph showing live births in Britain between 2007 and 2011 to women from the top five countries (Office for National Statistics)

According to the ONS analysis, the number of babies born to British-born mothers barely changed in the five years from 2007 to 2011, up from 603,000 to 612,000.

However migrant mother births went up from 169,000 to 196,000, an increase of 16 per cent.

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The report said there had been a 24 per cent rise in the number of women of childbearing age who were born outside the UK and a fall of 5 per cent in the number of UK women of childbearing age since 2007.

It added that mothers from Poland, who gave birth to 23,000 children in Britain last year, are now at the top of the league table of foreign-born mothers in Britain even though birth rates in Poland itself are low.

On the rise: A graph showing the percentage of live births in the UK to non-UK born mothers between 2001 to 2011

Marked difference: Pyramid of the female population living in the UK. It shows the number of births for UK born women and non-UK born women, between 2007 and 2011

‘This can be explained by the younger age structure of the population born in Poland and by timing effects, given that the majority of those born in Poland will be people of young working age who have migrated to the UK since EU accession in 2004.’

Nearly 6,000 babies were born to mothers who were themselves born in Germany, enough to put Germany seventh on the list of countries from which migrant mothers come.

However the report pointed out that ‘many of those born in Germany will be British nationals whose parents were serving in the armed forces in Germany at the time of their birth’.

General fertility rates for the top five non-UK maternal countries of birth and for UK born women in 2011. Pakistan is markedly highest, followed by Nigeria



Baby boom: More than four out of ten births to foreign mothers last year were in London (file picture)

The ONS added: ‘The increase in the proportion of births to non-UK born mothers living in the UK illustrates how the demographic make-up of the UK is changing.’ The report said there were marked regional differences in the fertility rates of women, both of those born abroad and those born in Britain.
Overall, foreign-born women were likely to have 2.28 children during their lives, while British born women could expect, at 2011 fertility rates, to bear 1.89 children.

But there was a bigger gap in London, where fertility rates were higher for foreign-born women and where fertility rates for British-born women were ‘well below average’.

This may be because a higher proportion of British-born women in London than elsewhere are pursuing education and careers and delaying childbirth and families.

'I CAME FOR A BETTER FUTURE' SAYS MOTHER

Priscilla Gavioli and family

Brazilian-born Priscilla Gavioli, 34, gave birth to her son Daniel in July at the Whittington Hospital in North London.

Miss Gavioli, who works in banking, arrived in London in 1996 as an 18-year-old looking for a better future.

Six years later she met her partner, 39-year-old Steven Gray, and the couple now live in Muswell Hill.

Miss Gavioli said when she first arrived there were more opportunities for her in London than in Brazil.

But she added: ‘The opportunities seem to have reversed. Brazil is booming now. If there was something for us to do there we might consider going back. All my family still live there.’

The couple are acutely aware of the pressure childcare costs will have on their finances.

Mr Gray, who works in the media, said: ‘A nursery will cost us £1,200 per month. I’d like a second child, but it’s so expensive.’

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