According to researchers, infants those who take birth outside normal working hours are more prone to risk of dying owing to the absence of senior clinic staff in the wards.

They examined one million births over 20 years and discovered that those born outside the normal nine to five Monday to Friday working hours were 70% more likely to expire and the main reason behind the casualty was lack of oxygen that can be because of the absence of senior clinical staff to spot the trouble and react speedily.

The study also detected that sufferers were more likely to pass away if they were admitted to hospital at weekends.

Even when planned caesarean sections were excluded (which have a very low risk of death from lack of oxygen), there was still a 45 percent increased risk of death due to lack of oxygen when the baby was born out of hours.

The researchers said that one out of every four babies who expired owing to lack of oxygen had been born outside normal hours.

Gordon Smith, a professor in obstetrics and gynaecology, stated, "For example, it could be explained by variation in staffing at different times of the day, such as the total number of staff or the profile of staff, in particular the immediate availability of senior clinicians."

"Improving the level of clinical care for women delivered out of normal working hours might reduce overall rates of perinatal death," he said. (With Inputs from Agencies)