Research has confirmed the evening is party-time for babies, though the reason why remains.

Pregnant women are often advised to monitor their baby’s movements, but normal movement patterns are poorly understood, resulting in mixed advice.

Researchers at Auckland University interviewed pregnant women to build up a picture of normal movements.

Lead researcher Billie Bradford says the most surprising result is in late pregnancy almost all women feel strong or moderate movements in the evening.

She told Mike Hosking that they had heard from pregnant woman that this was happening, but it has never been proven. 

"We've looked into this a lot more closely and found they do actually move more in the evening, based on ultrasound studies and animal studies, which backs up what women have been telling us all along."

Bradford says that 96 per cent of respondents told them this. 

She says if your baby isn't moving as they normally would in the evening get a checkup, don’t wait for the next day. However, she does not want parents to worry. 

"They tend to be active more in the first part of the evening, not necessarily all night long. We don't want women to worry if baby isn't moving at four or five AM."