Infant mortality rates in the EU-28

Malta and Romania jointly had the highest rate at 6.7 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2017, while Cyprus had the lowest rate at 1.3 per 1,000 live births. Of the EU28 countries, Ireland ranked 11th with a rate of 3.0.  See fig. 4.1.

Infant Mortality by detailed age

Almost a third (32.4%) of all infant deaths occurred within the first day of birth and 54.3% occurred within the first week.  See table 4.5.

There were 140 neonatal deaths (deaths of infants under 4 weeks) in 2017, a decrease of 7 on the 2016 figure.  The neonatal mortality rate of 2.3 per 1,000 live births remains unchanged from 2016.  See tables 4.2, 4.3, 4.8 and fig. 4.2.

Infant Mortality by cause

Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period accounted for 46.8% of infant deaths in 2017.  Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities accounted for a further 40.4% while sudden infant death syndrome accounted for 8.5% of such deaths.  See table 4.8.

For infant deaths occurring in the first day of life, the causes of death were split between certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (57.4%), and congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (42.6%).  See table 4.8

South Tipperary had the highest rate for infant mortality in 2017 (8 infant deaths) with a rate of 7.3 per 1,000 births.  See table 4.3.

Stillbirths

The number of stillbirths in 2017 was 162, a decrease of 11 on the 2016 total of 173.  The corresponding rate decrease was 0.1 down from 2.7 in 2016 to 2.6 in 2017.  See tables 4.1, 4.2 and fig. 4.3.

For stillbirths, the highest rate per 1,000 live and stillbirths was in South Tipperary (6.3).  There were no registered stillbirths for Kerry, Waterford City or Galway City in 2017. See table 4.3.

In 2017, stillbirths classified as being due to certain conditions originating in the perinatal period accounted for 79.6% of all registered stillbirths and 20.4% were due to congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities. See table 4.12a.

While statistics of infant mortality are obtained in the course of the usual procedure for registration of deaths, which has been in operation since 1863, particulars of late foetal mortality have been obtained through a scheme of notification to the Directors of Community Care.  The scheme of notifying late foetal deaths was introduced in 1957, but comparisons between different areas of the country showed marked differences in the coverage of the scheme in the early years.  Consequently, the number of late foetal deaths in the early years of the scheme is believed to be understated.

In 1995 stillbirths were registered in Ireland for the first time under the Stillbirths Registration Act, 1994.  The definition of a stillbirth under the Act is broader than the definition used for late foetal deaths in previous Vital Statistics Reports.  Care should be taken in comparing statistics on stillbirths and late foetal deaths in consideration of the changes between the notification and registration systems.

The National Perinatal Reporting System (NPRS) (http://www.hpo.ie/,HIPE and NPRS Reports, Perinatal Statistics Reports).  Perinatal Statistics Reports also produces statistics on stillbirths, which can be compared to the numbers in these reports.  The NPRS figures are derived from birth notification forms, whereas the figures contained in this report are derived from stillbirths registered.  In recent years, the numbers of stillbirths according to NPRS reports have been higher than the numbers published in these reports.  This suggests that there is considerable non-registration of stillbirths and that caution should be taken in interpreting the statistics on stillbirths in these reports.

Pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium

There was 1 maternal death in 2017, giving a rate of 1.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live and stillbirths.  See table 4.19.

For definitions on the terms used in this chapter, see link to technical notes:

 Infant mortality, stillbirths and maternal mortality.