The 'risk' of giving birth out of hours

Around 100 babies a year are dying needlessly, because they're not born outside the hours of nine and five, a study by the University of Cambridge has found.

Babies born at night or at the weekend are at a greater risk of dying than those born within normal working hours, a study suggests.

The analysis of more than one million births in Scotland over two decades found the risk of death for babies born out of hours, while small, was a third higher than for those born in the day.

The study suggested that night staffing and access to facilities were possible explanations.

Emma North reports.