Perinatal Statistics Report 2011

December 20, 2012

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Health and Quality of Life
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Health Research and Information Division, The Economic & Social Research Institute

For all babies born in Ireland in 2011, this report presents information reported to the National Perinatal Reporting System (NPRS) on pregnancy outcomes, together with descriptive social and biological characteristics of all mothers giving birth. Some of the main findings of the 2011 report are: Births – Numbers and Rates

  • The decline in birth numbers continues as 74,377 births were notified to the NPRS in 2011 compared with 75,600 births in 2010. This represents a reduction of 1.6% since 2010 and 2.2% since the peak in 2009.
  • At 16.2 per 1,000 population, Ireland again reported the highest birth rate of any of the 27 EU countries. The second highest EU birth rate was reported for the UK at 12.9 per 1,000 population.
  • The decline in the perinatal mortality rate continues. This rate is estimated at 6.1 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths in 2011 compared with 6.8 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths in 2010 which represents a reduction of over 10%. When compared with 2002, when the perinatal mortality rate was 8.4 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths, the 2011 rate represents a reduction of 27%.
  • The stillbirth rate is estimated at 4.0 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths in 2011 compared with 5.6 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths in 2002, representing a reduction of 29%. The early neonatal mortality rate is estimated at 2.1 per 1,000 live births in 2011 compared with 2.8 per 1,000 live births in 2002 which represents a reduction of 25% over the decade.
  • The twinning rate for 2011 was 18.1 per 1,000 maternities. This compares with a twinning rate in 2010 of 16.7 per 1,000 maternities. Multiple births in 2011 included 1,319 sets of twins, 28 sets of triplets and 1 set of quadruplets.
  • At 2.03, Ireland reported the highest total period fertility rate of the 22 EU countries for which 2011 data were available.

Breastfeeding

  • At the point of discharge from hospital or by midwife attending a domicilary birth, almost 47% of all babies were exclusively breastfed in 2011 compared with 46% in 2010 and 41% in 2002.
  • When examined by nationality, for babies born to Irish mothers the exclusive breastfeeding rate is estimated at 40% compared with over 75% for babies born to mothers from Europe and Australia.

Length of Stay, Age, Marital Status and Nationality of Mothers

  • The  average length of stay of mothers was recorded at 3.3 days in 2011 compared with 4.1 days in 2002, representing a decrease of 19.5 per cent over the decade.
  • The average age of women giving birth was 31.7 years in 2011 compared with 31.5 years in 2010.
  • Almost 29% of women giving birth were aged 35 years or older; just 2% of women giving birth were aged 19 years or less.
  • Of all women giving birth in 2011, 40% gave birth for the first time, with an average age of 29.8 years. The corresponding figures for 2010 were 41% and 29.4 years.
  • Some 33% of births were to single mothers with an average age of 28.3 years, which compares with 30% and 25.7 years in 2002.
  • Almost 24% of births in 2011 were to mothers born outside Ireland compared to almost 25% in 2010. In 2004, the year this information was first collected, just 16% of births were to mothers born outside Ireland.
  • There were 168 home births attended by independent domiciliary midwives in 2011 compared with 288 in 2002.

Notes for Editors:

  • In 2011, 20 maternity hospitals/units and 18 independent midwives in Ireland reported to NPRS.
  • The National Perinatal Reporting System has as its principal aim the provision of national statistics on perinatal events . The ESRI has been responsible for managing, and reporting on, the NPRS on behalf of the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive since 1999.
  • The current and previous NPRS Annual Reports are available at:      https://www.esri.ie/health_information/latest_hipe_nprs_reports