The latest CSO figures show the drop.
Birth rates in the midlands are declining.
The latest data from the Central Statistics Office shows there's been a seven per cent slow down in the number of registered births in the third quarter of 2024, when compared to the same period the year previous.
Births are down across all three counties, with the biggest drop being recorded in Laois, from 263 in 2023, to 233 last year.
They fell from 221 in Offaly, to 213, and from 298 in Westmeaht, down to 283.
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