This brief piece appeared in today's Boston Globe. I have not seen the 
article on which it is based. Just passing it on for all of your 
information. Any thoughts? Are there any baby friendly hospitals in 
California? I wonder if any baby friendly hospitals, or those in which 
babies stay with their mothers were in the study and, if so, whether 
they measured any differences in those hospitals.

Naomi Bar-Yam


> Infants born at night may be at greater risk of dying
>
> Babies born during daytime hours are significantly more likely to 
> reach their one-month birthdays than those born at night, according to 
> new research from Stanford University. The analysis of birth and death 
> certificates for 3.3 million infants born in California between 1992 
> and 1999 showed that infants born between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. were 12 
> percent more likely to die in their first month than those born during 
> the day; and infants born between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. were 16 percent 
> more likely to die. Decades of research in Europe has found similar 
> outcomes, but the Stanford study is the first to find it in this 
> country. Researchers speculated that reduced staffing and diagnostic 
> capability at night might be to blame.
>
> BOTTOM LINE:  ''My advice is that people expecting children ask their 
> obstetrician about what the services are like if [the mom] delivers at 
> night," said Jeffrey B. Gould, the lead researcher. "Your doctor may 
> look at your situation and say whether night is the best time to be 
> there. This is an opportunity to bring about improvement and change."
>
> CAUTIONS: The authors arbitrarily chose the times to distinguish day 
> and night births because the hospitals in the study did not have 
> standardized shift changes. The sample only includes records from 
> California, and may not be generalizable.
>
> WHAT'S NEXT: Gould said hospitals need to consider time of birth when 
> they are discussing and recording infant deaths, and reevaluate their 
> nighttime services. Further research is needed to explain the reasons 
> for the higher nighttime death rates.
>
> WHERE TO FIND IT: Obstetrics and Gynecology, August 2005


--------------------------------
Naomi Bar-Yam Ph.D.
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Researcher, Writer, Educator
in Maternal and Child Health
--------------------------------

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