Here’s What Time of Day Babies Are Born

According to new data, American mothers-to-be aren’t having too many late night surprises. A new report shows the highest percentage of U.S. births in 2013 (the most recent data available) happened during morning and midday hours.

The new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s National Center for Health Statistics looked at 2013 birth certificate data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), and found that the highest percentage of births took place occurred during the hours of 8:00 a.m. and noon. Less than 3% of babies were born during each hour from midnight to 6:59 a.m.

Though most births happen during the day, the latest findings report that when babies are born on a Saturday or Sunday, they are more likely to happen in the late evening or overnight—11:00 p.m. through 5:59 a.m.—compared to births that happen between Monday to Friday.

When it comes to how women gave birth, there were also some distinct patterns in timing. The researchers reported that compared to with induced and non-induced vaginal deliveries, cesarean deliveries were the least likely to occur during evening and early morning. Non-induced vaginal births were more likely to happen in the early morning compared to cesarean and induced vaginal births. Births in out-of-hospital settings were most likely to happen in the early morning hours starting at 1:00 a.m.

“As the use of medical interventions for childbirth (i.e., induction of labor and cesarean delivery) has increased during the last few decades, an increasing proportion of deliveries occur during regular daytime hours,” the study authors write. Understanding when women are most likely giving birth and what types of births are occurring when, can help hospitals better prepare to ensure mother and child are healthy.