A senior doctor has spoken of his fears for maternity services at some of Wales' largest hospitals.
A senior doctor has warned that babies' lives are sometimes being put at risk because of a lack of staff in some of Wales' largest maternity hospitals.
The medic claims Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales (UHW) and the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, have a shortage of doctors and midwives.
The doctor - who does not want to be identified for fear of losing his job - spoke to BBC Wales' Week In Week Out.
Maternity services at Newport's Royal Gwent Hospital have been in special measures for months after a review.
Tuesday night's programme is investigating maternity services.
Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust said it did face pressures on its service but said most women had a "positive experience".
But Rosemary Kennedy, chief nursing officer for Wales, says maternity services are safe, and more midwives are being recruited across the country.
The doctor, who fears losing his job if he was identified, spoke to BBC Wales' Week In Week Out programme.
The doctor said the greatest problem was in high-risk pregnancies at larger hospitals' consultant-led units.
He said the greatest problem was in high-risk pregnancies at large hospitals such as UHW and the Royal Gwent when emergencies occurred in normal births.
"It doesn't happen very often, because the still birth rate is extremely low, but there are a number of babies that are ill and some babies that are lost every year in south Wales that different management would have resulted in a better outcome," the doctor said.
He said: "There just aren't enough senior medical staff to actually see all of the patients in the ante-natal clinics.
One area of particular concern to the doctor is when pregnant women go more than 12 to 14 days past their due date.
'Pressures'
A woman's placenta does not work so effectively, and the doctor said a lack of staff had led to inductions of labour being delayed, and - on occasion - babies dying.
"And then the same thing is translated onto the various labour wards in that you don't have enough trained midwives and trained senior doctors actually running the labour wards to provide the continuity of care and at a level that you would want to."
"There are some pregnancies where babies can't be saved and as doctors and midwives we accept that," he said.
Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust Nurse director Sue Gregory said 6,200 women gave birth with them last year, and this number was rising.
"But it's just very, very hard to watch and see a baby that has been lost that could have been saved - and sometimes saved by something as simple as delivering that baby a little bit earlier," he added.
She said: "Whilst we do face pressures on our services, the majority of mothers do have a positive experience.
The doctor is so concerned about a shortage of doctors and midwives he wants a review of maternity services across Wales.
"We are responding to the increasing birth rate by employing more midwives and support staff. A new Women's Unit with improved maternity facilities will also open later this year.
But Ms Kennedy insisted that maternity services in Wales are safe. "I think any complaint, any concern - wherever it comes from, really does have to be taken seriously," she said.
"We are working closely with the Royal College of Midwives and [the union] Unison to ensure any concerns raised by staff are addressed, allowing them to concentrate on providing mothers with the best possible care."
"Now, in terms of safety we have Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, which is our independent arms length body, which will look at all concerns which are raised.
Maternity services at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport have been in special measures for 12 months.
'Midwives'
Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust had to draw up an action plan to try to improve its maternity care, and it is monitored weekly by Healthcare Inspectorate Wales.
It followed concerns about staffing levels at the hospital, and "inadequacies in management and leadership".
In February this year, Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Gwent Hospital, said it accepted the review's findings, and added that safety was a "top priority" and it was employing more midwives.
Rosemary Kennedy, the chief nursing officer for Wales, insisted maternity services in Wales are safe, and she said more midwives were being recruited across the country.
"I think any complaint, any concern - wherever it comes from, really does have to be taken seriously," she said.
"Now, in terms of safety we have Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, which is our independent arms-length body, which will look at all concerns which are raised.
"It will also undertake an annual review of maternity services, and they have assured us that in terms of safety - Wales is a safe place to have your baby."
"It will also undertake an annual review of maternity services, and they have assured us that in terms of safety - Wales is a safe place to have your baby."
Week In Week Out is broadcast on BBC1 Wales at 2235 on Tuesday 26 May.
Week In Week Out is on BBC 1 Wales at 2235 BST on Tuesday, May 26.
