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In some hospitals, one bed is used for more than one birth in each 24-hour day while women are also forced to share showers and baths.

The study for the Healthcare Commission found some hospitals have staffing levels that are "well below" average.

Consultants do not always spend enough time on the wards, not all staff receive adequate training and choice of where to give birth could be limited.

The large-scale review, of all maternity units in 150 NHS trusts in England, examined all aspects of maternity care.

It found that in the average trust each maternity bed is used for 0.7 births per day, but in some trusts each bed is used for 1.4 births per day.

"This seems excessive and there is clearly a need to increase the capacity of delivery beds in these units," the report said.

Some 16.5% of trusts had as many as one bath per delivery room, while 38% reported one shower per delivery room.

One of the Government's key aims is to give every woman choice over where to give birth, including in units led by obstetricians, or midwives, or at home, but the report found for the majority of trusts the choice "is currently very limited".

The study also pointed to some hospitals having higher Caesarean rates than others, "nearly always higher" than the 15% recommended by the World Health Organisation.