PART 3: CHILDREN'S OUTCOMES - HEALTH
Birth Weight
Low birth weight is associated with a number of adverse health outcomes, including feeding problems, breathing difficulties, brain damage and infections. 29
Measure
The percentage of babies born weighing less than 2,500 grams
(live and still births).
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Key findings
- In 2005, 78% (48,174) of all babies born were within the healthy birth weight category (2,500-4,000 grams); 16.7% (10,314) were in the high birth weight category (4,000+ grams); and 5.3% (3,296) were in the low birth weight category (under 2,500 grams) (see Table 44). These percentages have been relatively stable over the years 2001-2005.
Table 44: Percentage of infants' birth weight groups (live and still births), by gender (2001-2005)
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | ||||||||||
| % Low | % Healthy | % High | % Low | % Healthy | % High | % Low | % Healthy | % High | % Low | % Healthy | % High | % Low | % Healthy | % High |
| 5.1 | 73.9 | 20.9 | 4.8 | 74.6 | 20.6 | 5.0 | 74.9 | 20.1 | 5.1 | 74.2 | 20.6 | 4.9 | 74.8 | 20.3 |
| 5.9 | 80.9 | 13.2 | 5.7 | 81.1 | 13.1 | 5.8 | 81.0 | 13.3 | 5.5 | 81.2 | 13.3 | 5.8 | 81.3 | 12.9 |
| 5.5 | 77.3 | 17.1 | 5.3 | 77.8 | 16.9 | 5.4 | 77.8 | 16.8 | 5.3 | 77.5 | 17.1 | 5.3 | 78.0 | 16.7 |
Source: National Perinatal Reporting System, ESRI
Differences by gender and social class
- In 2005, boys were less likely than girls to be born in the low birth weight category (4.9% and 5.8% respectively). This is a consistent trend since 2001.
- In 2005, the highest percentage of babies born in the low birth weight category were born to mothers in the 'unemployed' socio-economic group (8.1%) (see Figure 16).
Figure 16: Percentage of babies born weighing less than 2,500 grams (live and still births), by occupation of mother (2005)*
* Occupation categories where percentages are based on less than 100 births have been omitted in this figure (i.e. 'Unskilled Manual Workers', 'Other Agricultural Occupations and Fishermen', 'Farmers and Farm Managers', 'Skilled Manual Workers' and 'Salaried Employees').
Source: National Perinatal Reporting System, ESRI
Differences by geographical area
- In 2005, the highest percentage of babies born in the low birth weight category were born to mothers resident in Tipperary NR (7.1%), while the lowest percentage were born to mothers resident in Sligo (3.6%) (see Table 45).
Table 45: Number and percentage of babies born weighing less than 2,500 grams
(live and still births), by mother's county of residence (2005)
| County | Number | % |
| Tipperary NR | 44 | 7.1 |
| Leitrim | 24 | 6.5 |
| Offaly | 65 | 6.5 |
| Waterford | 100 | 6.1 |
| Carlow | 48 | 5.9 |
| Dublin | 765 | 5.9 |
| Louth | 94 | 5.9 |
| Meath | 158 | 5.8 |
| Kerry | 101 | 5.8 |
| Donegal | 116 | 5.8 |
| Limerick | 144 | 5.6 |
| Wexford | 115 | 5.6 |
| Tipperary SR | 82 | 5.4 |
| State | 3,296 | 5.3 |
| Westmeath | 68 | 5.3 |
| Galway | 170 | 5.2 |
| Cork | 364 | 5.2 |
| Kildare | 165 | 5.1 |
| Mayo | 85 | 5.0 |
| Longford | 24 | 4.9 |
| Cavan | 39 | 4.5 |
| Dublin County | 204 | 4.5 |
| Wicklow | 83 | 4.4 |
| Monaghan | 32 | 4.4 |
| Roscommon | 28 | 4.2 |
| Clare | 68 | 4.2 |
| Kilkenny | 45 | 4.0 |
| Laois | 36 | 3.9 |
| Sligo | 27 | 3.6 |
Source:National Perinatal Reporting System, ESRI
International comparisons
- Calculating the percentage of babies born less than 2,500 grams in 2004, based on live births only for the purpose of international comparisons, the percentage of Irish babies born weighing less than 2,500 grams was 5.7% (see Figure 17). This compares with the EU average of 7.3%.
- Among the 20 EU countries for which data are available, the lowest percentage for this indicator was found among Finnish babies (4.2%) and the highest among Romanian babies (9.5%).
Figure 17: Percentage of babies born weighing less than 2,500 grams (live), by country (2004)*
* Excludes Belgium, Cyprus, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and UK.
Source:European Health for All Database, WHO
Technical notes
The National Perinatal Reporting System (NPRS) dataset provides details of national statistics on perinatal events — live births and late foetal deaths (still births). Information on every birth that occurs either in hospital or at home is returned to the NPRS. The information collected includes data on pregnancy outcomes, with particular reference to perinatal mortality and important aspects of perinatal care. The period to which the information applies is from 22 weeks' gestation to the first week of life. In addition, descriptive social and biological characteristics of mothers giving birth and their babies are recorded. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) is contracted by the Department of Health and Children to manage the NPRS system.
The European Health for All Database (HFA-DB) is a central database of independent, comparable and up-to-date basic health statistics. It has been a key source of information on health in the European region since WHO-Europe launched it in the mid-1980s. It contains time series from 1970. The database is updated biannually and contains about 600 indicators for the 53 European WHO Member States. The indicators cover:
- basic demographics;
- health status (mortality, morbidity, maternal health and child health);
- health determinants (such as lifestyle and environment);
- healthcare (resources and utilisation).
