Britney's boy named Preston

Britney Spears gave birth to her first child last night - a boy she named Preston Michael Spears Federline.

The 23-year-old singer is said to be 'inseparable' from her son after giving birth via elective Caesarean section at a hospital in Santa Monica, California.

She was driven to the £30,000-a-birth UCLA Medical Centre at 5am local time with a police escort and had the operation seven hours later.

She had an uncomplicated birth with just her husband, dancer Kevin Federline, 27, by her side.

Earlier this month, the star - who became pregnant only over two months after marrying - said she had chosen a Caesarean because she could not stand the idea of pain.

'I have a feeling I'm going to have an operation,' she said.

'I don't know why, but I hope so. I don't want to go through the pain.

'My mom said giving birth was the most excruciating thing she's ever gone through in her life. So if a Caesarean doesn't happen, I'll be, like, "epidural please!" Hopefully, my athletic abilities will take over.

'I've always known that I was going to have a baby one day. But there's

An insider said she had employed 40 security guards and rented a suite of three rooms with a private kitchen for the four days she was expected to be at the hospital.

'Ever since I was a little girl, I thought for a boy I love Sean Preston - I love that name,' added Miss Spears, who put on nearly three stone with her pregnancy. 'Or London Preston. Isn't London pretty? And for a girl, I love Addison Shye. I think that's pretty,' added Miss Spears, who has spent nearly £60,000 on a nursery for her first child.

As soon as she married Federline last September, the singer said she was hoping to become pregnant.

The couple met in a nightclub when he was engaged to Shar Jackson, who had one child by him and was seven months pregnant with another. Miss Jackson was quickly dumped in favour of the multimillionairess singer and, despite the objections of her family, Miss Spears married Federline just six months after meeting him.

The Los Angeles ceremony was described as one of the tackiest showbusiness weddings ever.

Guests wore tracksuits, the food was hamburgers and chips and at the end of the night there were goodie bags featuring a keyring with pictures of the bride and groom.

It was Miss Spears's second wedding in a year. She was married to childhood friend Jason Alexander for just 55 hours after a drunken night out in Las Vegas.

Infants who have a surgical delivery also run twice the risk of allergies to eggs, fish and nuts because they do not acquire beneficial bacteria as they pass down the birth canal.