Most babies are born at night, why do babies choose to be born at night?

An interesting phenomenon is that there are obviously more babies born at night than during the day. About 70% of babies are born at night. Why don't babies choose to be born during the day, while most babies prefer to be born at night?

1. Hormones

In the third trimester of pregnancy, the oxytocin and melatonin in the pregnant mother's body will jointly promote uterine contraction and ultimately promote natural delivery. The characteristic of melatonin is that it is secreted less during the day, more at night, and reaches its peak in the early morning. Therefore, the strong secretion of these two hormones at night makes it easier for pregnant mothers to give birth.

2. Evolution

Human beings in ancient times wore leaves, lived in caves, and had to be wary of nearby carnivores. These carnivores usually wander near the places where primitive humans live during the day. For primitive humans who rely on wood and stones for defense, this is really a fatal threat. If humans give birth during the day, the screams caused by the contractions for several hours and the amniotic fluid on the baby after delivery will attract carnivores looking for food nearby. And the mother who has just given birth is so tired that she doesn't even have the strength to open her eyes to look at the baby, let alone defend herself. In addition, ancient humans were busy going out to find food during the day. At night, everyone in the family would be at home, and only then would the mother have a safe environment and thoughtful care. These factors all contributed to the fact that ancient humans liked to give birth at night. Therefore, in order to adapt to the environment, humans slowly tried to stagger the time when carnivores forage during the day, and instead gave birth at night. Over a long period of evolution, the probability of humans giving birth at night has increased a lot.

3. Full term

Most babies are born at full term. And what counts as full term? Not only the months and days must be sufficient, but the specific time must also be sufficient. That is to say, when the time when the sperm and egg combine is consistent with the time when the baby is delivered, it is considered full term. Generally speaking, the time when sperm and egg meet is at night, so the time when the baby is born is naturally at night. Therefore, babies are more likely to be born at night.