A WOMAN has been hauled into court after admitting she hid her pregnancy then allowed her secret baby to die.

Jennifer Hardie, 37, only informed the authorities after she delivered the tot herself. The newborn was later found dead by police in her home.

Hardie also admitted illegally using an abortion drug in a failed bid to end her pregnancy shortly before she gave birth.

Now, in a rare legal case, she has been convicted under a 200-year-old law for not seeking medical help for her pregnancy.

Legal sources say it's the first time in more than 40 years that a Scot has been prosecuted and convicted for concealing a pregnancy.

Hardie, of Shotts, Lanarkshire, claimed she did not know she was expecting until more than half-way through the pregnancy.

Hamilton Sheriff Court heard that she admitted buying an abortion drug over the internet. It is used by doctors to carry out legal abortions on women who are less than eight weeks pregnant.

The drug causes contractions resulting in a miscarriage and can be taken at home.

However, it is not available over the counter and internet sales in the UK are illegal.

Hardie was convicted on two charges under the Concealment of Birth (Scotland) Act 1809 and the 1967 Abortion Act.

Under the 1809 act, it is a criminal offence if a baby dies as a result of the mother hiding her pregnancy.

The court was told that Hardie fell pregnant in March 2008 but did not realise she was expecting until August.

She gave birth two days before Christmas. Her lawyer Gerry Devaney said she had been under pressure following the death of her dad a few weeks earlier and her mum the previous year.

The crime carries a maximum two-year jail sentence but Hardie was spared prison and put on probation for two years.

Sheriff Marie Smart told her: "You have committed a very serious offence." After last week's hearing, Hardie declined to comment.

But a police source said: "This is a very disturbing case. In the past, mothers who concealed a pregnancy where the baby died were not prosecuted because there were usually mental health issues.

"But the Crown accepted that Hardie knew what she was doing - particularly as she went on the internet to buy Misoprostol to try to abort the foetus.

"She could have been sent to prison so she has been let off lightly."

Pro-abortion group, Abortion Rights UK, said women who conceal a pregnancy should not be prosecuted.

Spokeswoman Kate Smurthwaite said: "A woman does not undertake to terminate or conceal a pregnancy lightly. There is still a stigma about abortion in this country.

"She should have gone to her GP to make sure she got as much help as possible to come to the right decision about her baby.

"She may have still been within the 24-week upper limit for seeking a legal abortion."

Paul Tully, of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, said: "Our first concern is for the human tragedy of this case.

"We mourn the loss of this baby and we hope the mother has the support she needs to see her through the physical and psychological trauma that often follows abortion.

"We believe that illegal self-abortion should be strongly discouraged - it not only destroys a baby's life but also puts a mother at grave risk.

"This law clearly acts as an effective deterrent protecting other women because this medically dangerous act is very rare."