Mums can insure unborn babies in Australia

The insurance company ING has devised a baby policy for women aged 16 to 40 which will deliver payouts of up to $50,000 for babies born with down's syndrome, spina bifida or a cleft palate, the Sun-Herald said.

A stillborn baby could get a $10,000 payout while women who suffered complications during pregnancy or birth could also be awarded a payout, it said.

ING spokesman Mark Vilo said the new policy allowed the company to match up with "social trends and advances in medical technology," the paper said.

"Every woman in the process of having a child knows the risks," Vilo said. "We don't make people undergo genetic testing to find out things they don't want to."

"With the median age of new mums now nearly 31, (up from 27 in 1985), the risk of pregnancy complications and birth defects increases dramatically.

For a woman aged 35 or more  the risk of stillborn is one in 440, as opposed to one in 1,000 for younger women," ING said on its website.

The policy drew criticism from the New South Wales Midwives Association, which said it played on the fears of pregnant women.

"It is making women think about the terrible things that can happen when the reality is there are very few mothers who suffer from complications during pregnancy," secretary Dr Hannah Dahlen told the Sun-Herald.

But Investment and Financial Services Association head Richard Gilbert said it made sense to have appropriate insurance.