Report on Perinatal Statistics for 2001

May 03, 2005

News

03/05/2005

 

Report on Perinatal Statistics for 2001

HIPE & NPRS Unit, The Economic & Social Research Institute [HIPE:Hospital In-Patient Enquiry; NPRS: National Perinatal Reporting System]

Embargo: Tuesday 3 May, 2005 at 00.01 a.m.



This report presents information on pregnancy outcomes, together with descriptive social and biological characteristics of mothers giving birth and babies born in Ireland in 2001.

 

 

  • 58,261 births were notified to the NPRS in 2001.
  • Estimated birth rate of 15.1 per 1,000 population, an increase of 4.7% since 1992.
  • From 1992-2001, Perinatal Mortality Rate decreased by 10.4%, Early Neonatal Death Rate fell by 26.3%, and the Stillbirth Rate reduced by 1.7%.
  • Delivery by Caesarean Section now accounts for 22% of all births, an 80.8% increase on all births delivered by caesarean section since 1992.
  • Average birth weight of babies born in 2001 is estimated at 3,477g. Low birthweight babies (weighing less than 2,500g) represented 5.2% of all births in 2001 compared with 4.1% in 1992.
  • The Twinning Rate for 2001 is estimated at 15.3 per 1,000 maternities, as there were 878 twin births, 23 triplet births, 1 quadruplet birth and 1 quintuplet birth in 2001.
  • Single mothers accounted for just over 30% of all women giving birth, an increase of 82.7% in the estimated rate of 16.5% in 1992. The average age of single mothers in 2001 was 25 years compared with an average age of 22 years in 1992. Both average age of all mothers and average maternal parity remain constant for 2001 at 30 years and 1.1, respectively. Average maternal parity has declined from 1.4 in 1992.
  • Trend in breastfeeding rate continues to be upward at 39.1% in 2001 compared to 33.9% in 1992.
  • 245 home births attended by independent domiciliary midwives in 2001 compared with 201 such births in 1992
  • Decrease in the percentage of early neonatal deaths undergoing post-mortem examinations. This rate, 33.6%, has declined by 14.9 % between 2000 and 2001 alone. Over the past decade the overall rate for post-mortems has decreased by 54.5% from the 1992 rate of 73.8%.