Convenience and the occurrence of births: induction of labor in the United States and Canada

This paper, using data for the United States and Canada on number of births by day of the week, presents indirect evidence for the widespread incidence of the practice of elective induction. For both the United States and Canada, it is found that substantially fewer births occur on Saturdays, Sunday...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of health services Vol. 9; no. 3; p. 439
Main Authors Rindfuss, R R, Ladinsky, J L, Coppock, E, Marshall, V W, Macpherson, A S
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.01.1979
Subjects
Appointments and Schedules
Birth Rate
Birth Weight
Canada
Female
Holidays
Hospital Departments - utilization
Humans
Labor, Induced - utilization
Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital - utilization
Pregnancy
Socioeconomic Factors
Statistics as Topic
Time Factors
United States
Canada
United States
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Summary:This paper, using data for the United States and Canada on number of births by day of the week, presents indirect evidence for the widespread incidence of the practice of elective induction. For both the United States and Canada, it is found that substantially fewer births occur on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays than on weekdays. Controlling for such factors as prenatal care, race, education, legitimacy, birth weight, and time trend strongly suggests that the induction of labor is responsible for the patterns found. The paper concludes by discussing the framework within which the practice of elective induction of labor should be evaluated and justified.
ISSN:0020-7314
DOI:10.2190/C8CF-GLPC-6LBW-9KWA