Vital Statistics Annual Report 2023

Infant Mortality

During the year 2023, there were 180 deaths of infants under one year of age, compared to 188 in 2022. The infant mortality rate was 3.3 per 1,000 live births in 2023, down 0.2 from 2022. See Figure 3.1.

Infant Mortality by age and cause

Neonatal deaths are deaths of infants at ages under four weeks. There were 135 neonatal deaths in 2023, a decrease of 2 on the 2022 figure. The neonatal mortality rate per 1,000 live births was 2.5 in 2023, unchanged from 2022. See Table 3.1 and PxStat table VSA94.

For infant deaths, those under one year, the largest cause of death was related to sudden infant death syndrome, accounting for just over one in ten infant deaths (13.9%). See PxStat table VSA29.

Stillbirths

The number of stillbirths registered in 2023 was 108. The overall stillbirth rate was 2.0 in 2023, an increase of 0.1 from 2022.

In 2023, certain conditions originating in the perinatal period accounted for 81.5% of all registered stillbirths and a further 18.5% were due to congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities. See Table 3.2 and PxStat tables VSA94, VSA24 and VSA28.

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), Healthcare Pricing Office (HPO) and Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE) also produce 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 were 2 maternal deaths registered in 2023, giving a rate of 3.7 maternal deaths per 100,000 live and stillbirths. Any deaths which have been registered after the publication of this annual report will be included in figures presented in VSA35.

Users should note that all deaths are classified in accordance to the International Classification of Diseases, Version 10 (ICD-10), with death statistics coded to the Underlying Cause of Death (UCOD) as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO).