Athens - A 20-year-old British woman has been charged with causing the death of her newborn baby soon after she gave birth alone in a hotel room on the holiday island of Crete, reports said Wednesday.

A Greek prosecutor charged the woman with strangling her newborn son late Tuesday night. A coroner said the baby appeared to have been suffocated.

Under Greek law the woman could face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

The suspect remains hospitalised under police guard in the capital city of Iraklion where she is being treated for severe blood loss after giving birth early on Monday.