Fertility Trends in Northern Ireland Naomi O’Neill - NISRA 2007 BSPS Conference – St Andrew’s

Summary of Presentation  Birth registration process  Trends in births and fertility levels in Northern Ireland compared to other countries  The Eastern European migration effect  Conclusion

Birth Registration  Must be registered with General Register Office (GRO)  26 Local Government District offices  Some maternity units in local hospital  42 days from birth to registration  Specified group of informants e.g. parents, grandparents etc  Child’s and parent’s details collected at registration

Form of Particulars

Birth Certificate

Newspaper Headlines 17 th November, 2004 – Irish News

Newspaper Headlines 8 th April, 2005 – Tyrone Times

Newspaper Headlines 10 th July 2007 – Irish News

“Baby Boom” 2002

Social Class  Individual social class is allocated to each child  If father is present – allocated father’s social class  Otherwise – allocated mother’s social class  Change from SOC90 to SOC2000 in 2002  Post 2002 data can be categorised into two groups  High to Medium – Higher managerial, lower managerial, intermediate and small employers and own account workers  Medium to Low – Lower supervisory, Semi-routine, Routine, never worked, long-term unemployed and not classified

Live Births Classified by Mother’s Country of Birth, P Mother’s Country of Birth Registration Year P 2007 Q1-Q2 P ALL BIRTHS 21,96222,31822,32823,27212,138 Northern Ireland 18,99419,05919,03919,61110,166 Rest of UK 1,5531,4041,4601, Republic of Ireland A8 Countries All Other Countries/Unknown 6791,1321,0131, P Provisional Data

Live Births Classified by Mother’s Country of Birth, P (Percentages) Mother’s Country of Birth Registration Year P 2007 Q1-Q2 P ALL BIRTHS Northern Ireland Rest of UK Republic of Ireland A8 Countries All Other Countries/Unknown P Provisional Data

Conclusion  Cultural Changes have Effected Birth Trends  Better acceptability of births outside marriage  Mothers waiting later to have children More women pursuing careers More women pursuing careers More widespread availability of fertility treatments More widespread availability of fertility treatments  Increased number of migrants Move primarily for employment in manual jobs however have children while living in Northern Ireland Move primarily for employment in manual jobs however have children while living in Northern Ireland Have children at a younger age than the average Northern Irish mother Have children at a younger age than the average Northern Irish mother

Data Available  Provisional Monthly Data  Published one month in arrears  Provisional Quarterly Data  Published one quarter in arrears  Provisional Annual Data  Published in March of the following year  Finalised Annual Data  Published in November of the following year

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