EXPECTANT parents should be aware of the health-care lottery, according to a good birth guide which criticised and praised both Wycombe and Wexham Park hospitals

The guide, in the Sunday Times, highlighted Wycombe Hospital and Wexham Park Hospital as having a higher than average number of births per midwife, per year.

Wexham Park had 51 births per midwife per year, with Wycombe Hospital on 39. The average number of births per midwife is about 32 babies per year, according to the guide.

The guide claimed that above average figures were associated with low staffing levels, although the hospitals have hit back at the findings.

Martin Leaver, a spokesman for South Bucks NHS Trust, said that they welcomed the interest the report had created about maternity care in the country.

He added: "We would encourage people to read all the information about Wycombe Hospital's maternity services on the Dr Foster website at www.drfoster.co.uk, which was used for the guide.

"There is an awful lot more than what has been published."

A spokesman for Wexham Park Hospital said: "It is fully recognised that the midwifery staffing levels at Wexham Park Hospital are lower than the recommended number but at present we are still able to run a totally safe service for mothers and babies."