If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Two generations ago babies were born pretty much spontaneously, around the clock. But today in the U.S., about half of all births are cesarean sections prescheduled by Mom or deliveries induced by doctors concerned about the mother's or baby's health. These medical procedures have skewed the days of the week, and hours of the day, during which those little bundles of joy arrive.
The procedures dominate because more than 98 percent of infants are born in a hospital, despite what seems to be the rising popularity of home births. Far more babies now arrive on weekdays than on weekends, most between 8 A.M. and 6 P.M. “We can't schedule spontaneous labor, obviously,” says Neel Shah, a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School. “But we can schedule delivery.”
Credit: Nadieh Bremer and Zan Armstrong; Source: FiveThirtyEight, from data supplied by U.S. Social Security Administration (week data); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (minute and hour data)
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
.png?w=1350)
