In a study of more than 700,000 births at all Dutch hospitals between 2000 and 2006, researchers found that the risks [...]]]> Picking the time of day to give birth may not be a choice very many women can make, but it could influence her chances of a smooth delivery, new research shows.

In a study of more than 700,000 births at all Dutch hospitals between 2000 and 2006, researchers found that the risks of newborn death and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit were higher with nighttime than daytime deliveries.

The findings, say the researchers, are in line with trends in other studies not only in obstetrics, but in hospital intensive care units as well.

Overall, the new study found, infants at smaller community hospitals who were born in the evening (between 6 p.m. and midnight) or overnight into early morning (between midnight and 8 a.m.) were 32 percent to 47 percent more likely to die than those born during the day.

Larger medical centers that would see more high-risk pregnancies — so-called tertiary centers – did not have as much of a difference between night and day. At these hospitals, only overnight births – as opposed to evening births — were linked to an increased risk of newborn death.

source www.reuters.com/article/