New figures published in the HSE’s annual Irish Maternity Indicator System report reveal six women died during 2018 while pregnant or within 42 days of the termination of a pregnancy from a cause related to or aggravated by their pregnancy – four more than the previous year.

The first monthly safety statements published for all 19 of the country’s maternity units show widely differing levels of births by caesarian section as well as perinatal mortality rates.