A credit crunch baby boom left a hospital maternity unit full for five days running.

Every single bed was taken up at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton following a sharp rise in the number of women coming in to give birth in the last week.

Most of the babies were conceived in November when the effects of the financial downturn were starting to be felt.

It’s thought that a combination of darker nights, bad weather and a need to save cash led to more couples opting for a romantic early night - rather than hitting the pubs and clubs.

The Royal Sussex's unit is linked with another at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath and over a five day period almost 120 babies were born at both hospitals.

The average number for the same period is around 100.

Hospital sources said as fast as one bed emptied, another person was coming in to fill it.

The Royal Sussex was so busy, several women who were planning to give birth there found themselves going to the Princess Royal instead.

Both hospitals have a total of 16 delivery beds, 46 postnatal and seven antenatal beds between them plus a recovery room and a high dependency bay at the Royal Sussex.

In a message to staff at Brighton and Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Duncan Selbie said there must have been “something in the air” last November.

He said: “Since the middle of last week our labour and postnatal wards have been as busy as they have ever been.

“Predicting when a baby will choose to make its entrance into the world has never been an exact science and our maternity teams are well used to an unpredictable demand for their service.

“This last week was though, by all accounts, exceptional.

“Once again the professional co-operation of the teams at the Royal Sussex and Princess Royal, working together as one unit across two sites, came into its own and people worked above and beyond their remit and their normal working hours to do our best for each family.”

Sussex Enterprise director of membership Gill Edinburgh said: “If we are seeing a mini baby boom due to the recession this could actually lead to a boost in consumer spending on baby related products and even help the economy.”

*Readers can follow the progress of pregnant Michelle McCann at her online blog at theargus.co.uk.