1,200 still births a year 'could be avoided'

Urgent action is needed to tackle Britain's high rate of stillbirths and deaths in the first few weeks of life, a new report warns.

The number of stillbirths in the UK is "shocking" and up to 1,200 could be avoided every year, the charity Sands said. Seventeen babies are stillborn or die shortly after birth every day – a figure that has barely changed since the late 1990s. In 2010, 4,110 babies were stillborn.