ESRI 2012 PERINATAL STATISTICS REPORT for IRELAND

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The Economic & Social Research Institute (ESRI), Health Research and Information Division, has issued its perinatal statistics report for 2012 for all babies born in Ireland in 2012.

The statistics show that Ireland’s birth rate is declining and that 71,986 births were notified to the NPRS in 2012 compared with 74,377 births in 2011. This represents a reduction of 3.2% since 2011 and 5.3% since the peak in 2009.

Ireland has consistently had the highest birth rate over the period, and while it shows an increase from 15.5 per 1000 population in 2003 to a high of 16.8 per 1,000 population in 2008 it has declined to 16.2 per 1,000 in 2011 and 15.6 per 1,000 population in 2012. 

After Ireland, the countries with the next highest birth rates are the United Kingdom and France (12.8 and 12.6 respectively) followed by Sweden and Cyprus (11.9 and 11.8 respectively). In 2012, Germany (8.4) had the lowest birth rate and Portugal had a birth rate of (8.5). The average birth rate for the 27 EU countries is 10.4 per 1,000 population.

The good news is that the pattern of decline in the perinatal mortality rate is continuing. This rate is estimated at 5.9 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths in 2012 compared with 6.1 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths in 2011 which represents a reduction of over 3%. When compared with 2003, when the perinatal mortality rate was 8.6 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths, the 2012 rate represents a reduction of 31%.

The stillbirth rate is estimated at 3.9 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths in 2012 compared with 5.8 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths in 2003, and 4.0 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths in 2011, representing a reduction of 33% over the decade and a slight decrease of 3% between 2011 and 2012.

FERTILITY

The Total Period Fertility Rate (TPFR) for a given year indicates the number of children a woman could expect to have if the Age-Specific Fertility Rates (ASFR) for that year applied throughout her fertile years. The ASFR refers to the number of live births to women in a particular age group per 1,000 women.

The Irish TPFR increased from an average of 1.97 in 2003 to a high of 2.07 in 2008 and is now declining, the estimated TPFR for 2012 being 1.99.

The TPFR for Ireland is based on population data for 2012, and at 1.99 is below the level required for the long-term replacement of the population in the absence of any net inward migration (2.10).

Ireland also had the highest TPFR in the 27 EU countries for 2012.

France and Sweden were just behind Ireland with a TPFR of 1.98 and 1.93 respectively, while Portugal (1.32) and Malta (1.36) recorded the lowest TPFR in 2012.

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The full report can be found on this link

New Perinatal mortality study highlights need for perinatal hospice care

A major national audit of stillbirths and other perinatal deaths up to four weeks after birth has been published by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre, based in Cork, which works with Ireland’s 20 maternity hospitals to bring about improvements in maternity services. 

See Independent report.

Each of the maternity units reported detailed information to the centre whenever it recorded a perinatal death - a stillbirth or neonatal death occurring up to 28 days.

The audit shows that major congenital anomaly - such as the brain not developing - was the most common cause of death

highlighting the need to establish perinatal hospice care for babies with fatal fetal abnormalities such as anencephaly .

The study indicates that there were 491 perinatal deaths in the Republic of Ireland during 2011, with stillbirths accounting for the majority of these. The death rates in hospitals varied from 1.9 per 1,000 births to 9.1 per 1,000 births. However when babies with fatal birth defects were excluded and only those who could possibly have survived are counted, the death rates again ranged from 1.5 per 1,000 births to 6.6 per 1,000 births.

The perinatal hospice approach walks with families on their journey through pregnancy, birth, and death, honoring the baby as well as the baby's family. Perinatal hospice is not a place; it is more a frame of mind. It is a way of caring for the pregnant mother, the baby, the father, and all involved with dignity and love. Even in areas without a formal program, parents can create a loving experience for themselves and their baby, and health professionals and family and friends can offer support in the spirit of hospice care.

Overall the study shows that Irish perinatal mortality rates compare favourably with British and European rates. However, the experts who compiled the audit have called for access to specialist perinatal pathology services in each health service region to reduce the mortality rate further.

ESRI report shows Ireland has highest birth rate in Europe

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ERSI) perinatal statistics reveal that Ireland with 76,021 births recorded in 2009 has the highest birth rate in Europe.

The ESRI report for 2009, the most up to date figures, show that the total fertility rate has increased steadily over the last decade from an average of 1.9 in 2000 to 2.1 in 2009. At 2.1 the fertility rate now stands at a level required for the long-term replacement of the population in the absence of any net inward migration. France had the next highest total fertility rate for the period at 2.0 or just below replacement level.

The report also says 2009 saw a further decline in the number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths. The mortality rate was 6.9 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths in 2009, down from 8.9 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths in 2000.

Professor Michael Turner, director of the HSE Obstetrics and Gynaecology programme, said the report shows the perinatal mortality rate in Ireland has improved in the first decade of the 21st century. "There has been a significant decline in both the number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths which is a tribute to all the staff in the different disciplines working in the maternity hospitals," he said

The ESRI report says that almost 24% of the births were to mothers born outside Ireland. It also says that in the 12 months covered by the report, the average age of women giving birth was 31.3 years, 27% of births were to women over the age of 35 and 3% to women aged 19 or less.

Link to full report