THREE QUARTERS OF GALWAY BIRTHS TO MARRIED WOMEN

Date Published: 26-Jun-2012

Almost three-quarters of births in Galway are to married women.

According to 2010 ERSI figures, 72 per cent of births were to married mothers while just 27 per cent of births were to single mothers.

The total number of births in Galway in 20-10 was 4,016.

2,889 to married mothers, 1,073 to single mothers and just 54 to widowed, separated and divorced mothers.

Figures also revealed that Galway mothers favour artificial feeding methods.

42% of mothers chose to bottle feed while 39% opted for breastfeeding.

A small number of mothers went for a combined method, with just 19 per cent of Galway mothers choosing to combine artificial with and breast feeding.

According to the ESRI report, 28 per cent of women who gave birth in Ireland in 2010 were aged 35 or older.

Ireland has the highest birth rate in the EU, and also the highest fertility rate, with an average of 2.09 children per woman.