By Michael O'Farrell
MORE babies die in Ireland than almost anywhere else in Europe, despite an overall reduction in infant death rates across the continent. Overall, infant mortality - the death of any infant up to one year of age - has been decreased by 85% in just 40 years, but our rate of 5.9 deaths per 1,000 births is the second worst in Europe.

Only Greece is worse than Ireland with an infant death rate of 6.1 per 1,000 births, according to an EU statistics report.

However, Irish neo-natal mortality rates - deaths within 28 days of birth - have improved dramatically in recent years.

In 1987, Ireland's neo-natal mortality rate was 5.3 per 1,000 births. But recent figures, released in a report by the Department of Paediatrics in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, show the rate was reduced to just 1.8 deaths per 1,000 births last year.

Dr Alf Nicholson, a paediatrician with Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, says the low neo-natal death rate can be attributed to an increased level of expertise in Irish maternity hospitals: "Babies are now much less likely to die from things like asphyxia because now all babies are born with on-site paediatricians. We have a pretty advanced maternity system which is consultant-led now."

However, Dr Nicholson believes that not enough preventative measures are taken following childbirth. This helps explain Ireland's high infant death rate.

"Where we really fall down is in prevention and where we don't score at all well is in accidents among very young children. Also our vaccination rates are very, very low which also adds to the dangers," he said.

Ireland's infant mortality rate is considerably higher than the European average of 4.9 deaths per 1,000 live births and is almost double that of Sweden which tops the infant mortality table with just three deaths per 1,000.

Infant mortality rates are highest among children born into poorer disadvantaged families while single mothers under 20 have the highest risk of losing a child.

Last year, there were 53,239 births throughout the country, a slight decrease on 1999 when 53,324 babies were born.