Babies born in English hospitals at the weekends are more likely to die than those born in the week.
Research conducted by Imperial College London looked at more than 1.3 million hospital births between 2010 and 2012, calculating the number of stillbirths or deaths within seven days of delivery.
The study found the death rate for babies delivered at weekends was 7% higher than weekdays. This represents 7.1 deaths per 1,000 babies born at weekends.
Researchers also discovered that the incidence of maternal infections, neo-natal injuries and brain damage are greater at the weekends.
The day with the lowest death rate was Tuesday. If every day of the week had the same rate as Tuesday, there would be 770 fewer deaths each year.
“Concerning”
Those carrying out the research said the difference between weekend and weekday deaths rates was “significant”, with lead researcher Dr William Palmer describing the findings as “concerning”.
However, the study did not draw a link between the levels of weekend staffing and death rates, saying more data would be needed to verify the cause.
The standards of weekend care have been called into question recently, after a separate study in September revealed patients admitted to hospital at weekends are more at risk of dying within 30 days.
Dr David Richmond, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: “Although no definite conclusions can be drawn from these results, they emphasise the need to clarify the possible causes in order to ensure that women are receiving high-quality care at any given day of the week.”
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