Secretary for Food and Health Dr York Chow Yat-ngok said yesterday that the problem was escalating.

Chow said while there was no easy solution, the government was exploring options such as restrictions on the use of obstetrics services at public hospitals and 'self-discipline' when it came to the provision of services in the public and private sectors.

'From 2004 and 2005, there were only a few hundred of those babies. Now, it amounts to about 40,000. It really puts pressure on our obstetrics services and neonatal intensive care units, and even maybe paediatric services. I think this is a real problem we need to tackle,' Chow said.

'Our basic principle is we have to give priority to local mothers.' Chow said self-discipline meant obstetricians discussing what the optimal services load should be for Hong Kong.

A person familiar with the situation said Chow would soon meet representatives from public and private hospitals to discuss the matter.

'We will get all parties to sit down and discuss how the services load should be adjusted to give safe services to patients, and relieve stress on health-care staff,' the person said.

Private Hospitals Association president Dr Alan Lau Kwok-lam warned against any interference in the private market. 'We are willing to discuss the matter and strive for good quality of care ... but any drastic measures contradicting the free market would be regrettable. The government would need good justification to limit our maternity beds,' he said.

Lau said the two sectors should take into account their neonatal intensive care capacity when reviewing maternity services to ensure safe care was maintained.

He said all private maternity beds were approved by the Department of Health, based on the number and experience of health-care staff.

Chow also said he was sympathetic to staff dealing with increased demand on services from the influx of mainland mothers. His comments came after a group of senior public obstetricians, supported by 800 medical staff, held a rare press conference on Monday calling on the government to restrict mainland mothers from giving birth in Hong Kong.

Group member and the head of obstetrics and gynaecology at Prince of Wales Hospital, Dr Cheung Tak-hong, said the government should co-ordinate maternity services in public and private hospitals.

Cheung said the fast expansion of private hospitals had lured many public doctors into private practice.

With more than 2 per cent of newborns in need of intensive care, the rising number of births in Hong Kong put huge stress on public neonatal intensive care services, he said.

'We are not discriminating against mainland people, nor are we asking private hospitals to stop their services. What we want is safe care.'

There is a shortage of obstetrics staff in Hong Kong, but the number of births has increased in the past 10 years. Births by mainland mothers made up 46 per cent of the 88,000 in Hong Kong last year.

A Court of Appeal judgment last year upheld a 2007 charging package requiring non-resident mainland mothers to pay higher obstetrics fees than residents.