Unemployed women more likely to lose children near birth, study shows

The first in-depth national audit into the death of babies in the weeks before or after birth has found certain categories of women are more affected by perinatal loss, including the unemployed and those belonging to ethnic minorities.

The Perinatal Mortality in Ireland Annual Report 2011, launched today, also found women aged 40 upwards were over-represented when it comes to losing a child around the time of birth.

Mothers aged at least 40 made up 10% of those whose babies died compared to 5% of the total women who gave birth in 2011.