Babies are most likely to be born at 4am

Just over half of all births following spontaneous onset of labour occur between 1am and 7am with a peak around 4 am, according to a new study involving UCL, City, University of London and the National Childbirth Trust (NCT). The study, published in PLOS ONE , analysed over five million births over a ten year period in England and found that 28.5 per cent of births occurred within between 9.00am and 4.59pm on weekdays while 71.5 per cent of births occurred outside these hours at weekends, on public holidays or between 5.00pm and 8:59am on non-holiday week days. Elective or pre-planned caesarean births accounted for 9.2 per cent of births and were seen to occur mostly on weekdays between 9:00 and 11.59am, with a pronounced peak between 9:00 and 10:59am. Very few occurred between 5.00pm and 6.59am on weekday evenings and nights, and even fewer at any time at weekends and on holidays. Differences between days were most pronounced among pre-planned caesarean births, which rarely occur at weekends or on public holidays, with the highest numbers recorded on Mondays and on weekdays after a holiday period, followed by Thursdays and weekdays before a holiday, reflecting staff working patterns. Lastly, births after induced labours, which made up over a fifth of births, are more likely to occur at hours around midnight on Tuesdays to Saturdays and on days before a public holiday period. They are less likely to occur on Sundays, Mondays and during or just after a public holiday.