Babies given to wrong mums for breastfeeding in NSW hospitals.

New mums in NSW hospitals were given babies that were not their own to breastfeed in seven separate mix-ups spanning four years.

But there could have been even more mix-ups.

The Daily Telegraph reports the state government said it could not guarantee these were the only cases, as it does not have access to private hospital records.

NSW Health would not say which hospitals were involved.

That decision has drawn criticism from the Labor opposition.

Opposition health spokesman Walt Secord said parents had the right to know where these mix-ups where taking place.

“I want them to publicly release a list of hospitals where these mix-ups occurred. The community has a right to know. This is the human cost of the massive cuts to the health and hospital system.”

The mistakes have raised concerns about the risk to the babies of contracting diseases such as hepatitis or HIV, although the risk of this is very low.

One mum who was given the wrong baby to feed said she was shocked it could happen.

Stefanie Phillips, 22, told The Daily Telegraph her daughter Ellie was mistakenly given to another mother to breastfeed in Gosford Hospital last August.

“I think the lack of midwives is really the problem … if they are short-staffed the government has to do something about it,” she said.

“It hit me ­afterwards. It tore me up.

“I would not want this to happen to another mother, especially a first-time mother.”

NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said it was “extremely rare” for this sort of mix up to occur.

Almost 100,000 babies are born in NSW hospitals every year.