NEWBORNS are more likely to die in the Highlands than anywhere else in Scotland while stillbirths are highest in Lothian, according to a report published today.

The annual UK-wide survey of Perinatal Mortality - babies dying during pregnancy or within 28 days of birth - shows that stillbirths and neonatal deaths are falling in Scotland in line with a national trend. Scotland also had the lowest rate of deaths among newborns out of the four UK nations in 2015, and the second lowest rate of stillbirths after Northern Ireland.

However, the report "red-flagged" above average deaths among newborns in the Highland and Lanarkshire health board areas, with less severe "amber" ratings for stillbirths in six health board areas including NHS Lothian, which recorded 40 stillbirths in 2015.

The data is compiled annually by MBRRACE-UK, a group of academics, charities and institutions which leads research into maternity deaths. It uses a traffic light system where red signifies areas with mortality rates more than 10 per cent above the UK average and amber for areas where mortality is up to 10 per cent higher than average.

The latest report reveals that 14 infants died within a month of being born in NHS Lanarkshire and seven in NHS Highland during 2015. Both areas were rated red, but Highland emerged as the worst in Scotland once the data was adjusted to take account of the comparatively smaller number of births in rural areas and other risks such as maternal age, deprivation, ethnicity and cases of twins or triplets. On this basis, Highland recorded 2.04 neonatal deaths per thousand live births, compared to a rate of 1.26 for Scotland as a whole. In Lanarkshire, the rate was 1.94.

A spokesman for NHS Highland said senior health board staff would be conducting a review into the deaths "as soon as possible".

Meanwhile, the report also highlighted regional variations in stillbirths. Six health boards - Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Lothian, Grampian, Ayrshire and Arran, and Tayside - were flagged as amber with around a hundred stillbirths combined, out of a total of 191 in Scotland in 2015. However, Lothian ranked highest once the researchers adjusted for variables, with a rate of 4.05 stillbirths per thousand births, compared to a Scottish average of 3.47.

A spokeswoman for NHS Lothian said: “This is a rare event but every stillborn or neonatal death is extremely sad and difficult for those involved and that's why within NHS Lothian a multidisciplinary case review is carried out in all cases.”

The overall UK picture showed an eight per cent reduction in stillbirths between 2013 and 2015, but the report stressed that this remained "high compared to many similar European countries". It added that "there remains significant variation across the UK that is not solely explained by some of the important factors that influence the rate of death such as poverty, mother’s age, multiple birth and ethnicity". The UK's neonatal death rate has remained largely static.

Mandy Forrester, head of standards at the Royal College of Midwives, said: “Things are moving in the right direction but there is still much more to do if we are going to match the lower stillbirth rates of other European countries. There is rightly a need to tackle neonatal death rates which have not fallen as much as the stillbirth rate. However, there is clearly a need to put even greater efforts into reducing both. The variation in stillbirth rates across the UK remains a concern.

Dr Brad Manktelow, an associate professor at the Leicester University who led the statistical analysis, said: “Those Trusts and Health Boards identified with high rates of stillbirth or neonatal death rates should review the quality of the care they provide.”