Jamie-Lynn Spears, Britney's 17-year-old sister, has given birth to a girl.

The TV star's baby was born at a hospital in Mississippi at 9.30am on Thursday morning.

"Just the family was there," a source told People magazine.

"Everyone is healthy and happy."

The insider revealed that the child has been named Maddie Briann.

The Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Centre would, however, give no details.

"We understand everybody's interested, but we don't give out information on anyone. Everyone's entitled to their privacy," said spokesperson Ellen Brannan.

The new mother was joined at her birth by Britney, brother Bryan and father Jamie who flew in from Los Angeles on Wednesday. Spears' mother Lynne had been helping her prepare for the baby.

Spears herself has been writing exams, attending baby showers, and readying the nursery.

The star of the Nickelodeon TV series 'Zoey 101', was 16 when she announced her pregnancy in December last year, sparking a media frenzy about teen sex and the actress' position as a role model for children.

She retreated to her Louisiana hometown of Kentwood and in March announced her engagement to her baby's father, 19-year-old pipe-layer Casey Aldridge. The couple recently bought a home in Liberty, Mississippi where Aldridge, the son of a Tennessee paper mill worker, went to school.

Focusing on Zoey Brooks, a student at California boarding school Pacific Coast Academy, 'Zoey 101' completed production of its final season in September.

In a statement issued on Thursday Nickelodeon said: "We wish her and her family well."