Pregnant Channel 8 newscaster Zhao Wenbei, who carried on reading the news last Tuesday night after her water broke, gave birth to a baby boy last Thursday, said Shin Min Daily News.

The 34-year-old new mother said she had felt something "irregular" when she was on the air on Tuesday.

She continued reading the news and waited until after the broadcast to go to the hospital with her husband, she added.

It was then that she was told her water had broken.

Channel 8 News said on its Weibo page later that Zhao should get a round of applause for her "100 per cent dedication".

Her son, weighing 2.66kg, was born on Thursday afternoon.

She was to have started her maternity leave on May 1, the report said. Zhao said she had been given a due date of May 13, and her son had arrived way ahead of schedule.