More than 550 babies who died or suffered brain damage shortly after birth could have had different outcomes if their hospital care had been better, a major study has concluded. Problems monitoring the heart rate of babies during labour are contributing to brain damage and stillbirths, according to the report.

The study, from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the first of its kind, calls for a raft of actions to immediately reduce the numbers of babies dying or suffering brain injury due to problems or mistakes in labour. Continue reading