MOTHERS who gave birth in Limerick city were among the youngest in the country, and Limerick also had the highest rate of births outside of marriage.
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that 119, more than half, of the 231 births registered in the city in the first three months of this year, were born to women who were not married at the time.
This represents 50 per cent of the births, the highest percentage per head of population in the country.
And Limerick city mothers were among the youngest in the country, with an average ago of 29.4 years, and an average age of 31,9 years in the county.
But four in 10 who were not married at the time of giving birth said they were living with the child’s father.
The figures for the county show that of 182 of the 609 births registered- almost one third – were to unmarried women, a figure lower than the national average.
And there were 38 babies born to women from Limerick who were 40 years of age or older.
The youngest were 11 woman from the city and one from the county, who were under 20 when they gave birth. .
The majority of births in the city – 74 – was recorded amongst women aged between 30 and 34. In the county the corresponding figure was 242.
In the same three months, there were 153 deaths registered in Limerick city and 240 in the county.
The highest cause of death in the city was heart disease, which claimed the lives of 46 people, and in the county the highest number of deaths – 88 – were due to the same cause.
Eleven city people and nine from the county died due to accidents or other external causes.
