Welcome to the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre (NPEC)
The National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre (NPEC) is a clinical audit centre located within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College Cork based in Cork University Maternity Hospital. Our main objective is to work collaboratively with the maternity services to effectively utilise clinical audit data and epidemiological evidence and to translate these insights into tangible improvements in maternity care for families throughout Ireland.*
At the NPEC, we acknowledge that the statistics presented in our reports represent patients, and we use this data to learn from past experiences and produce recommendations for improved care. Please be aware that the data discussed in this website might be distressing or emotionally challenging to read. Please remember to prioritize self-care and seek support if needed while engaging with this material.
Our website serves as a central hub for individuals and professionals interested in the work carried out by the NPEC. This website aims to provide information about our ongoing initiatives, research projects, and collaborations with different maternity services across Ireland.
Thank you for visiting the NPEC website. We invite you to explore our resources, engage with our work, and join us in our mission to improve maternity care for families across Ireland.
Mary Harney, Former Minister for Health and Children
The NPEC works with the maternity services in Ireland. The NPEC is a team of midwives, researchers, administrators, clinicians and is directed by Professor Richard Greene. The NPEC produces annual reports on perinatal mortality in Ireland, maternal morbidity in Ireland, home births in Ireland and neonatal care of very low birth weight babies in Ireland and therapeutic hypothermia in Ireland, subject areas that constitute key indicators of quality of maternity and neonatal care. At local hospital level, the NPEC provides customised feedback to individual hospitals on how they compare against the national average. The NPEC makes recommendations in its annual audit reports. However, it recognises that recommendations are ineffective if they are not implemented. The NPEC has always strategically aimed to close the audit loop and since the establishment of the National Women and Infants Health Programme (NWIHP) in January 2017, several of the NPEC recommendations have been progressed. The NPEC works in collaboration with the NWIHP and acknowledges the key relationship that has developed between the two organisations. The NPEC is funded by the Department of Health through the Health Service Executive (HSE) and is based at Cork University Maternity Hospital in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College Cork. In Dáil Éireann on 8th March 2006, the then Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney stated that ‘Every time a mother gives birth in Ireland, the important interventions, the good outcomes and the complications are recorded and analysed at a national specialist centre’
Now Available.
Find out about the latest NPEC Perinatal Mortality Report 2021.
Perinatal Mortality National Clinical Audit
2021 Key Findings
PPH Spotlight Month
September 2023
Click PPHQII to learn more
Click to visit the Maternal Death Enquiry website
Visit the Maternal Death Enquiry-Ireland website.