History and Funding
Funding for the Registry is provided nationally by the Department of Health and the Western Health Board. The Registry joined EUROCAT in 1981.
Population Coverage
The Registry is population-based I and includes all mothers resident in the County of Galway. The Registry covers a total of about 3,000 births per year which represents 5% of all births in the Republic of Ireland.
Sources of Ascertainment
Death certificates allow for the notification of a congenital anomaly, however, birth certificates do not. Notifications of children who are diagnosed up to the age of 5 years are included in the Registry database.
Terminations of Pregnancy for Fetal Anomaly (TOPFA)
Termination of pregnancy is illegal in the Republic of Ireland.
Stillbirth and Early Fetal Deaths
The official definition of stillbirth is: a baby who shows no sign of life with a gestational age of >=24 weeks or weight of >=500g. All stillbirths are registered. Early fetal deaths/spontaneous abortions are considered as such at a gestational age of 24 weeks and are included in the register if the birthweight is 500g. Autopsy rates for 1994 were: 90% in stillbirths, 70% in early neonatal deaths (0-7 days), 70% in later deaths (1 week to 1 year), 70% in deaths with congenital anomaly.
Exposure Data Availability
No information was supplied on this section for the report.
Denominators and Controls Information
No information was supplied on this section for the report.
Address for Further Information
University College Hospital,
Department of Paediatrics,
Galway,
Ireland
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