Three Scottish NHS boards have higher than average mortality rates for newborn babies, according to a new national study.

Up to 10% more babies die in the NHS Grampian, Ayrshire and Arran and Borders areas than the UK average, MBRRACE-UK reported.

The group said its study highlighted a wide variation in the number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths across the UK in 2014.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Tayside both reported numbers which were more than 10% lower than average, and Scotland performed better than the rest of the UK generally.

The study, which was published on Tuesday, took differences in ethnicity, age and poverty into account.

MBRRACE-UK reported: "Since women with medical problems during pregnancy are often transferred to units with specialist care, those organisations will have a higher number of very sick mothers and babies to look after and therefore may have higher mortality rates."

In total, 6339 babies were born at NHS Grampian in 2014, 4.39 per 1000 of which resulted in a stillbirth, 2.22 per 1000 in a neonatal death, and 7.10 per 1000 in an extended perinatal death, when a child died up to 28 days after birth.

Meanwhile, 3598 babies were born at NHS Ayrshire and Arran, 4.53 per 1000 of which ended in stillbirth, 1.60 per 1000 in a neonatal death, and 6.11 per 1000 in an extended perinatal death.

A total of 997 babies were born at NHS Borders, 4.35 per 1000 of which resulted in a stillbirth, 2.22 per 1000 in a neonatal death, and 6.16 per 1000 in an extended perinatal death.

In contrast, 12,764 babies were born at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in 2014, 3.54 per 1000 of which ended in a stillbirth, 1.82 per 1000 in a neonatal death, and 5.38 per 1000 in an extended perinatal death.

The study focused on data collected in 2014 as part of the Maternal, Newborn and Infant Outcome Review Programme.

Nearly one in 100 births in the UK ends in a stillbirth or newborn death and up to 100 women die each year during or shortly after pregnancy.

The number of children who die before or shortly after birth has fallen since 2003 and MBRRACE-UK aims to further reduce this number by examining and identifying the causes of child mortality.