The average age of women giving birth in the State continues to rise, new figures show.
Vital statistics for the third quarter of last year, published today by the Central Statistics Office, show the average age of women giving birth in quarter 3 2011 was 31.7 years compared with 31.4 for the same period in 2010 and 30.4 years in 2002.
The increase was also reflected in the older age category with more women in their early 40s giving birth to children than in previous years.
A total of 972 children were born to women aged 40-44 years during the third quarter of 2011. This accounts for 5.1 per cent of all births in the period compared with 4.6 per cent (878 births) recorded in the same period of 2010.
A total of 19,222 births were recorded in the State in the third quarter of 2011.
Thirty-nine per cent (7,514) of all births in the period were to first-time mothers – a slight drop from 41.0 per cent for the corresponding period in 2010 and 41.6 per cent in 2006.
The average age of first-time mothers was 29.7 years and the average age of first-time mothers giving birth outside of marriage was 26.8 years. This figure ranged from 30.4 years in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown to 26.8 years in Limerick City.
There were 65 infant deaths recorded in the third quarter of 2011 giving an infant mortality rate of 3.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.This is the same figure recorded for the corresponding period in 2006 and a drop from the 4.4 recorded in 2002.
Forty-one neonatal deaths were registered in the same period giving a neonatal mortality rate of 2.1 per 1,000 live births. This figure shows a fall from the 2.7 recorded in 2006 and 3.2 per 1,000 live births recorded in 2002.
Neonatal deaths are deaths of infants aged 4 weeks and under.
The figures show a total of 6,911 deaths for the period and the principal cause of death varied widely by age group.
External causes of death, including accidents and suicide, accounted for the primary cause of death for young adults aged 15 to 44. Cancer was the leading cause of death for adults aged 45-74, and heart disease and diseases of the arteries accounted for the leading cause of death in those aged over 75 years of age.
The figures show a total of 5,303 deaths of persons aged 65 years and over during the period.
Diseases of the circulatory system accounted for 2,265 deaths, or 33 per cent, and 2,163 accounted for deaths from malignant cancers.
Seven hundred and fifty nine deaths were from lung diseases and 462 deaths were due to accidents, suicides and other external causes. Of these, 71.4 per cent or 462, were male.
The natural increase in the population (births minus deaths) for the period was 7,538. The State's population in April 2011 was 4,588,252.
