A study called “Transformations in the weekly distribution of births. A temporal analysis 1940-2010 ". Here you have the publication in the Spanish Journal of Sociological Research. In the abstract, we discover that the work delves into the literature that shows that the annual distributions of births have evolved to models dominated by sociocultural factors.
The research empirically shows that in the Valencian Community, the health sector influences the weekly distribution of births, because the medical corps holds a hegemonic position, in other words: more births occur on the central days of the week (specifically Tuesday and Wednesday) at the convenience of doctors. Which means that deliveries (and the last days / weeks of pregnancies) are being over-planned.
The socio-cultural changes of recent decades have led to the appearance of new values and social behaviors in Spain, as an example, the work cites the cases of doctors who only attend scheduled deliveries and cesarean sections.
Even the cases of women who request cesarean delivery during pregnancy with the aim of "not suffering contractions" are cited, although to disprove this idea, Nati wrote about the "advantages" attributed to this intervention, in contrast to the benefits of labor. Our healthcare system boasts very high cesarean section rates (25,20% in 2005), And of course not all caesarean sections are necessary (it's more, some are forced); It is therefore advisable to inform yourself well, taking advantage of the gestation period.
In the Valencian Community, births are concentrated on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Continuing with the study, the researchers have discovered that “when births occur 'unplanned', the proportion during the 7 days of the week should follow a discrete uniform probability distribution, and the expected proportion of births that we could expect for each day of the week, it would be 14,28 percent ”, but in reality they are concentrated in two days. The research also confirms "certain limits in the individual decision-making capacity of parents" because the birth of their children is conditioned by the individual needs and desires of health professionals.
The question that I ask myself, and "throw" into the air is: Where is the prominence of the pregnant mother, even of the baby who is the one who ultimately decides when to be born? Well, the answer is easy: they remain in the hands of health professionals; who on the other hand should have their role in the care of complications, but not a predominant role, because (let's not forget) childbirth is a physiological process.
I end with an interesting note from the point of view of demography, even sociology: "The forms of social organization (together with the doctor-patient power relations) have non-innocuous impacts on biological variables, the results of this work also have implications in the actuarial and demographic fields". It could also introduce unexpected disturbances in samples constructed for social science research and clinical trials.
For me it is clear that information gives power, and in the case of pregnant mothers, it increases their decision-making capacity and their leadership; however, on the organization of work in the medical sector, it is probably only possible to influence from the organization of the hospital centers, or sector policies.
Picture - Herausziehen des Kindes beim Kaiserschnitt