Birth rates highest in EU

IRELAND had the highest birth rate of any of the 27 EU countries in 2008, at 17.0 per 1,000 population, according to statistics released by the Economic and Social Research Unit (ESRI).

These latest results from the National Perinatal Reporting System (NPRS) on pregnancy outcomes reveal that 75,587 births were notified to the NPRS in 2008, representing an increase of 5% in births between 2007 and 2008.

The research shows that the average age of women giving birth, breast feeding rates and Caesarean section rates are also on the rise.

The data shows that more than 44% of babies were reported to be breastfed at discharge from hospital, compared with 41% in 2003 and 36% in 1999.

The average age of giving birth has also increased, rising from 30.1 years in 1999 to 31.1 years in 2008, with almost 26% of women delivering by Caesarean section.

There were 158 home births attended by independent domiciliary (home) midwives in 2008, compared with 186 in 2007.

The perinatal mortality rate was 6.8 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths in 2008; this rate was 6.5 per 1,000 for single births and 16.8 per 1,000 for multiple births in 2008.

The data also shows that the average birth weight of babies born in 2008 is estimated at 3,464g or 7.6lb. Low birthweight babies (weighing less than 2,500g) represented 5% of all births in 2008, which is unchanged since 1999.

These NPRS results put the country’s 2008 twinning rate at 17.9 per 1,000 pregnancies, while multiple births included 1,287 sets of twins, 30 sets of triplets and one set of quadruplets.