You push and out it comes. Fame and fortune are yours. You have borne the first Millennium baby.

But have you? The race for the first baby of the year 2000 could depend on the accuracy of the clock your hospital uses, according to two London paediatricians.

They say all six clocks in the delivery rooms of St George's Hospital in south London are slow, some by up to two minutes and 28 seconds, when compared with the BT speaking clock.

A survey of a big London teaching hospital found similar problems, with one clock being 25 seconds fast.

The variation could mean the difference between a life of free nappies, rusks and quality time with Max Clifford and the ignominy of a future as a Millennium also-ran.

11.57pm or 12.03am?

In a letter to the British Medical Journal, Jonathan Round and Nigel Kennea add that at St George's, there is a time gulf between the labour room, where the central nursing station clocks run four minutes and 10 seconds slow, and the special care baby unit, where they are only 24 seconds out.

"Most parents expect the clocks to be accurate and might be surprised if their babies became five minutes older during transfer to a neonatal intensive care unit from the labour ward," they say.

Louise Silverton, deputy general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), said: "Midwives believe every baby is special whether they are born before or after midnight on the Millennium.

"But if parents are concerned about the accuracy of the maternity ward clocks, they could take a radio in with them and listen to the Greenwich pips at midnight."

One hospital which has got the timing of New Year babies down to a fine art is Princess Anne's in Southampton.

It issues midwives with stopwatches for Christmas and New Year babies to make absolutely sure of timing.

A spokeswoman said she was positive all the main clocks would be checked as well.

But she added: "We are not entering a Millennium baby race. No baby will be induced to order. Births will be straightforward and will only be induced if there are clinical reasons."

This includes the baby being two weeks overdue.

The RCM is concerned that there will be pressure on staff to induce or perform Caesareans because of the hype around the Millennium baby.

But it believes NHS staff will not succumb to the pressures.

Hyped out

The Princess Anne Hospital says the hype may not be all it is cracked up to be.

According to its figures, there will be fewer babies this New Year than last.

It is expecting only 18 babies on 1 January from the whole of the Southampton area.

A nurse's watch: accurate?

"Common sense has prevailed," said the spokeswoman.

Its main concern is mothers-to-be who are due on 31 December and are worried about no staff being available and about the Millennium bug.

It has issued a leaflet, outlining how the hospital has cracked the bug issue and that staffing will be normal.

"We want to reassure them," said the spokeswoman.