Former elite water polo player Keli Lane has lost an appeal against her conviction for murdering her newborn in 1996.

The 38-year-old was jailed for at least 13 years and five months in 2011 after being found guilty of killing her two-day-old daughter Tegan.

She was given a maximum sentence of 18 years.

Appealing against the conviction on eight grounds, lawyers argued the jury that convicted Lane should have been allowed to consider an alternative charge of manslaughter.

Chief Justice Tim Bathurst, Justice Carolyn Simpson and Justice Christine Adamson handed down their decision to reject the appeal at the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal in Sydney.

Lane's lawyer, Ben Archbold, said she was "distraught" after hearing her appeal had been dismissed - three years to the day after she was convicted.

Baby 'most likely killed at Homebush Olympic site'

He said they would be reviewing the 100-page judgement before deciding whether to appeal further to the High Court.

Tegan's body has never been found and Lane has always maintained she gave the baby to the biological father, a man she called Andrew Norris or Morris, with whom she had an affair.

But prosecutors maintained Lane killed Tegan after leaving Auburn Hospital, in western Sydney, two days after giving birth.

The Crown's case was that she hid five pregnancies and did not want the responsibility of a child because of her ambition to compete in the 2000 Olympics.

Lane had two terminations as a teenager and kept three pregnancies and births secret from family and friends, giving up two children for adoption, the court heard.

During the trial prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC said Lane probably slipped out of the hospital through a fire escape with the baby and murdered her within a few hours.

Jurors were told Lane most likely killed her baby at the nearby Homebush Olympic site before going to a wedding later that afternoon.

Lane's earliest release date will be in May 2024.

ABC/AAP