According to the study by the Office or National Statistics (ONS), which collected data on the number of male and female births in each area of the UK, a total of 51.4 per-cent of births in Fermanagh last year were girls, while 48.6 per-cent were boys. 

 

A spokesman for the ONS said: “The data was collected over the period of one year and took individual districts into consideration. Considering that thousands of births were recorded at each maternity unit, the gender gap was very tight indeed, with just one birth swaying certain districts as being a ‘pink’ town or a ‘blue’ town.

 

“However, a few towns proved to offer a greater divergence between genders. 

 

“Although the difference remains relatively small, the findings make for an interesting debate regarding whether the baby’s gender is solely determined by genetics, or whether certain genders prevailing over others would be indicative of other environmental and lifestyle factors.”

 

While official statistics for the year were not available from the Western Trust, anecdotal figures from the South West Acute Hospital from the month of August, just past, seem to back up the ONS survey. 

 

There were a total of 106 births at the SWAH, 61 girls and 45 boys. Of these, 35 of the baby girls were to Fermanagh parents, while 16 were boys.