Louth has one of the highest birth rates in the country for unmarried couples.
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show there were 440 children born in the Wee County between January and March 2015.
Of that figure 254 of the children were born by those either married or in civil partnerships, a total of 57.7 per cent.
That meant that the remaining 186 children born in the first quarter of the year were conceived by parents not married or in a civil partnership – a total of 42.3%.
Only Carlow, Dublin City, Longford, Offaly, Wexford, Cork City, Limerick City and Waterford City amd County had higher tallies.
Of the 186 children born out of wedlock, 103 were born to parents at the same address.
There were two infant mortalities in the county in the first quarter of the year and one neonatal mortality.
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