Health Minister Mary Harney tonight insisted the country remained one of the safest places in the world to have a baby, despite revelations of a number of misdiagnosed miscarriage cases.

A leading patient support group in Ireland today questioned a review of all recorded cases of misdiagnosed miscarriage in the country over the last five years.

THE HSE has set up an emergency helpline after receiving a significant number of calls from pregnant women, concerned they have been incorrectly told they miscarried.

Health chiefs today insisted they have stepped up precautionary measures after a pregnant woman was wrongly told her unborn baby was dead.

The HSE has said measures have been put in place following a "serious near miss" incident at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital where a patient was wrongly told her unborn baby had died.