PREGNANT women have been given new advice about their sleeping position during late pregnancy.

The advice comes as new research found that women who went to sleep on their back in late pregnancy were twice as likely to have a stillbirth.

The Midlands and North of England Stillbirth study (MiNESS) compared sleeping habits and other aspects of pregnancy between 291 women who had a stillbirth at or after 28 weeks of pregnancy with 738 women who had a live birth.

The research was carried out in East Lancashire and other hospitals in the UK and overseas.

Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, and principal investigator Liz Martindale said: "This is an important study for pregnant women and sharing the results will hopefully lead to a further reduction in stillbirths.

"The international research teams have called for women to be made aware of the research, and informed that going to sleep on their side in late pregnancy could reduce their risk of stillbirth.

“I want to thank East Lancashire patients who agreed to take part in the MiNESS study and the outstanding work of our Family Care Research Team and the support we have received from the University of Manchester.”