New figures show Irish mums are getting older.
According to the CSO the average age of first time mothers is 30-point-8, up point-2 years from 2015.
Married women leave it later to have a baby, with unmarried mums having their first child at the average age of 28-and-a-half.
Births fell by almost 4 per cent at the end of 2016 to 16,458 meanwhile deaths rose by 4%.
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