More than one baby is born in every delivery bed each day at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital - making it one of the busiest maternity units in Britain.

An average of 14 mothers give birth at the Headington-based hospital every day of the year, according to a new guide for expectant mothers.

But midwives at the JR said the demands did not put the JR under pressure, even though there are only 13 delivery suites.

Head of midwifery, Sara Johnson, said: "The JR is one of the biggest maternity units in the country and because we are big, we have a nine-bed unit for women who need high levels of observation.

"We also have the delivery beds and two admission rooms. In general, we have enough beds and, if necessary, we can deliver a baby anywhere.

"The only problem is that we spend a lot of time trying to get away from the busy feeling so that we have a relaxed atmosphere for the mothers. We are a happy unit."

The Dr Foster Good Birth Guide explains that the women's centre, which houses the maternity unit, has an average of 1.1 births per delivery bed, making it one of the 21 most active maternity units.

The guide, covering 330 UK maternity units, gives information about which hospitals have birthing pools, whether pain relief is available, and what tests are offered to expectant mothers.

It praises the JR for continuity, because half the women at the hospital are cared for by midwives who oversaw their pregnancies.

Mrs Johnson said there were 350 full and part-time midwives working across Oxfordshire and maternity services had a low vacancy rate - unlike other areas of the health service.

She said: "We have been much more successful at recruiting midwives this year and we're trying to keep them. We have excellent staff and we had good feedback in the recent Commission for Health Improvement report."