Douglas Kennedy with 3-day-old Bo in the elevator (Image: NBC New York)

Douglas Kennedy, Fox News correspondent and son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, has been charged with assault after a 7 January incident in a New York hospital.

2 nurses at the Mt Kisco hospital alleged that Kennedy became violent after they tried to prevent him from taking his newborn son Bo outside of the ward. Kennedy says he wanted to "get some fresh air" and had already received permission from other nurses on duty, Reuters reports.

The confrontation began after nurses issued a "code pink", an alert that someone is attempting to abduct a baby. The incident was partially caught on surveillance camera; although obscured by a doorway, nurse Cari Luciano can be seen falling to the ground.

Luciano stated that Kennedy "raised his right foot and with tremendous force kicked [her] in the pelvis area". Another nurse, Anna Lane, accused the New York-based journalist of twisting her arm, although this appears off screen on the surveillance video.

Kennedy has been charged with harassment and endangering the welfare of a child.

Kennedy and his wife have labeled accusations "absurd" in an interview with NBC New York. His lawyer, Robert Gottlieb, called the altercation the result of "aggressive and grossly inappropriate behavior by two nurses".

"Whatever Douglas did came about only because the nurse was lunging to grab his child from his arms. What Douglas did was simply to protect his baby," he added.

A date for the hearing has not yet been announced.