ArticlePloS one2018
Timing of singleton births by onset of labour and mode of birth in NHS maternity units in England, 2005-2014: A study of linked birth registration, birth notification, and hospital episode data.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Person-centered maternity care during childbirth and its predictors in Ethiopia: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Women's health (London, England)Pooled it
- Capacity Planning for Small Hospitals and Departments Illustrated Using Maternity and Paediatrics Departments: Roles for Weighted Population Density, Seasonality and Size, Myths Around Length of Stay and Factors Influencing Costs and Funding.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Circadian rhythm characteristics of spontaneous labor onset in full-term primiparas and its impact on maternal and neonatal outcomes.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Time of day of induction impacts the total duration of labor.American journal of obstetrics & gynecology MFM · 2026Article
- Perinatal midwifery care demand in a tertiary hospital: A time-series analysis.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2025Article
- Associations between nighttime or weekend deliveries and adverse maternal, birth, and neonatal outcomes: secondary analysis of the MANGO study in western Kenya.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
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- Circadian characteristics of term and preterm labors.Scientific reports · 2024Article
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- Cohort profile: Born in Wales-a birth cohort with maternity, parental and child data linkage for life course research in Wales, UK.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Neonatal mortality in NHS maternity units by timing and mode of birth: a retrospective linked cohort study.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Nocturnal selective pressures on the evolution of human musicality as a missing piece of the adaptationist puzzle.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- The natural pattern of birth timing and gestational age in the U.S. compared to England, and the Netherlands.PloS one · 2023Article
- Integrative Analysis of Rhythmicity: From Biology to Urban Environments and Sustainability.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Long term impact of prophylactic antibiotic use before incision versus after cord clamping on children born by caesarean section: longitudinal study of UK electronic health records.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2022Observational
- The thermal consequences of primate birth hour and its evolutionary implications.Biology letters · 2022Article
- Involving service users in the Birth Timing project, a data linkage study analysing the timing of births and their outcomes.International journal of population data science · 2020Article
- Cohort profile: the eLIXIR Partnership-a maternity-child data linkage for life course research in South London, UK.BMJ open · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMaternity care has to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is known that obstetric intervention can influence the time of birth, but no previous analysis at a national level in England has yet investigated in detail the ways in which the day and time of birth varies by onset of labour and mode of giving birth.
methodWe linked data from birth registration, birth notification, and Maternity Hospital Episode Statistics and analysed 5,093,615 singleton births in NHS maternity units in England from 2005 to 2014. We used descriptive statistics and negative binomial regression models with harmonic terms to establish how patterns of timing of birth vary by onset of labour, mode of giving birth and gestational age.
resultsThe timing of birth by time of day and day of the week varies considerably by onset of labour and mode of birth. Spontaneous births after spontaneous onset are more likely to occur between midnight and 6am than at other times of day, and are also slightly more likely on weekdays than at weekends and on public holidays. Elective caesarean births are concentrated onto weekday mornings. Births after induced labours are more likely to occur at hours around midnight on Tuesdays to Saturdays and on days before a public holiday period, than on Sundays, Mondays and during or just after a public holiday.
conclusionThe timing of births varies by onset of labour and mode of birth and these patterns have implications for midwifery and medical staffing. Further research is needed to understand the processes behind these findings.
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