When are babies born?

This presentation analyzes the timing of births in the U.S. using 2023 data, focusing on month, day of week, and hour. It highlights how most births occur in August and fewest in February, with a sharp weekday peak driven by hospital births—especially scheduled cesareans. Vaginal and community births are more evenly distributed. The timing of hospital births—clustered during business hours—differs markedly from community births, which peak naturally between 2:00–4:00 a.m., echoing historical patterns and data from England and the Netherlands. The findings emphasize how medical interventions shape when babies are born and raise questions about birth practices.