Fifteen under-14s gave birth in 3-month period

FIFTEEN people, themselves just children, gave birth during a single three-month period last year.

The girls, aged 14 years or younger, were among 250 under-18s who became mothers between April and June 2009.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has confirmed that despite a fall in the number of teenage births over the past decade, a significant number of cases are continuing to be reported.

According to the figures, between April and June 2009 a total of 47 girls under the age of consent (17 years) gave birth in Irish hospitals, 15 of whom were not born before 1995. A further 103 17-year-olds; 167 18-year-olds; and 257 19-year-olds also became mothers during the period, including 50 who already had a child and three who had two previous offspring.

While the number of cases is in line with a fall in teen pregnancies over the past decade, from 3,135 in 2000 to less than 2,500 in 2008, the Teen Parents Support Programme said the issue was still impacting on families’ lives. And urging the Department of Education to provide official guidelines to schools on how to cope with a crisis pregnancy, it warned that without genuine support young girls facing the situation could be left with no option but to leave the education system.

Across all age groups a total of 18,844 births were registered during the three-month timeframe, a drop of 1% on the same period in 2008.

The largest number of newly registered births was in the 30- to 34-year-old age bracket, with one in three occurring outside of marriage. A further 40 births to women over the age of 45 were also detailed by the CSO statistics – seven of whom had no previous children.

While the official figures indicated the average age for a first time mother in Ireland currently stands at 31 years, it noted there continues to be a clear geographical disparity in the statistics.

In particular, it indicated that while the highest average age for a new mother per area was 33 years in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, south Dublin, the lowest could be found in Limerick city, where the average age at pregnancy was 29.

The highest percentage of births outside of marriage also occurred in Limerick city, where more than one in two new babies were born to unmarried couples, while the lowest level was just 19% in Leitrim.

Meanwhile, the CSO figures have also confirmed that there were 7,020 deaths registered between April and May last year, down 7% on the same period 12 months earlier.

A total of 5,356 deaths involved those aged 65 or over, a decrease of 11% on 2008 and 23% on 2000, while 52 infant and 41 neonatal deaths were also recorded during the period.

Of the mortality figures, 2,374 were connected to circulatory disease, 2,024 to malignant neoplasms, 904 to respiratory diseases and 441 to external causes.

* Information on teen pregnancy support services is available at www.treoir.ie and www.crisispregnancy.ie