External influences on birth deliveries: Lunar gravitational and meteorological effects

Morales-Luengo, Félix; Salamanca-Zarzuela, Beatriz; Urueña, Sara Marín; Garcia, Carla E.; Carboner, Sonia Caserío

doi:10.1016/j.anpede.2020.02.008

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The influence of the lunar cycle on births has been widely studied with contrasting results [ 5 – 12 ]. The correlation sought between birth incidence and synodic month (lunar phase, which corresponds to moon illumination percentage) or sidereal month (lunar distance) found by some [ 9 , 11 , 12 ] was not confirmed by others [ 12 ]. We also found no correlation between the synodic or sidereal month and birth.…”

Section: Results In the Context Of What Is Knownmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The association between moonlight and birth rate has fascinated people for centuries, with many believing that this celestial phenomenon has a mystical influence on reproduction. Indeed, while a clear association between photoperiod (Sun illumination) and reproduction, including birth rate, has been demonstrated [ 1 – 4 ], the effect of moonlight on birth rate has never been clearly defined [ 5 – 12 ]. In its 24-hour cycle, the Moon influences Earth’s phenomena through its gravitational forces.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the mystical relationship between the Moon, Sun, and birth rate

Londero,

Bertozzi,

Messina

et al. 2024

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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Objective The Moon has a noticeable influence on the Earth due to its gravity, the most visible manifestation of which are tides. We aimed to see if the Moon’s daily cycle, like the Sun’s, affects the prevalence and incidence of childbirth. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we examined all deliveries at the Academic Hospital of Udine between 2001 and 2019. All consecutive singleton pregnancies with spontaneous labor and vaginal delivery were included. Results During the period, 13,349 singleton pregnancies with spontaneous labor and vaginal delivery were delivered in 6939 days. A significantly higher prevalence of deliveries was found with the Moon above the horizon (50.63% vs. 49.37%, p < 0.05). Moreover, during the day, there was a significantly higher prevalence of deliveries than during nighttime (53.74% vs. 45.79%, p < 0.05). Combining the Moon and Sun altitude, the majority of deliveries were registered when both were above the horizon (27.39% vs. 26.13%, 23.25%, or 23.24%, p < 0.05). These findings were confirmed in multivariate analysis after adjusting for parity, gestational age, or season. We found no correlation between birth and the Moon phase. Conclusions Our data support the interaction of the Moon and the Sun in determining the time of birth. More research is needed to understand these phenomena and improve our understanding of labor initiation mechanisms.

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Section: Results In the Context Of What Is Knownmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the mystical relationship between the Moon, Sun, and birth rate

Londero,

Bertozzi,

Messina

et al. 2024

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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Temporal patterns of weekly births and conceptions predicted by meteorology, seasonal variation, and lunar phases

Gudziunaite

Moshammer

2022

Wien Klin Wochenschr

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Summary Background Data reporting the number of births given by women resident in Vienna for each week between 1999 and 2019, and the duration (in weeks) of their pregnancies, were used to estimate the week of conception. When preliminary examinations detected cyclical patterns for births and conceptions, a series of Poisson regressions for births and conceptions were performed to assess whether these cycles could be associated with lunar or solar phases. Methods To that end 2 sine-cosine functions, 1 with a wavelength of 1 year (365.25 days) and 1 with a wavelength of 29.529 days, the latter resembling the average length of a lunar cycle, were constructed. In addition, also average weekly temperatures were included in the models. Results Same week temperature was a strong non-linear predictor for both births and conceptions. Extreme temperatures, especially hot temperatures, increased the number of births while the numbers of successful conceptions were decreased by extreme temperatures. Regarding annual variation in conceptions, the lowest values were found in May and the highest in late autumn and early winter. Therefore, the highest numbers of births are observed in the summer. As per lunar variations, the highest numbers of conceptions occurred at the full moon and the highest numbers of births at the waxing crescent to first quarter moon. Discussion The latter results should be treated with caution, as they are not hypothesis driven. Furthermore, literature reports on this topic are conflicting. Nevertheless, these findings will be useful in further analyses examining air pollution effects.

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Current Experience with Obstetrical Events: Characteristics and the Effects of Nocturnal Periods

Blanco-López,

Peteiro-Mahía,

Navas-Arrebola

et al. 2024

Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol.

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Background: The object is to analyze the influence of the nocturnal period and lunar phases on the frequency of obstetrical events in pregnant women. Methods: This was a retrospective, transversal observational study of 1409 births in a hospital from northwest Spain (α = 0.05; precision = ±2.65%). A review of patients’ clinical records was performed recording the following data: labor onset type, date of last menstrual period, parity, gestational age, duration of pre-labor and labor, type of delivery, the hour, work shift, and lunar phase pattern of events. Statistical evaluation included descriptive and inferential analysis. Results: Labor was spontaneous in 58.3% of all cases; spontaneous deliveries accounted for 54.2% of the total and 19.2% were instrumental. In the cases of spontaneous labor onset, 48.5% began during the nocturnal period. The early labor phase was less than 6 hours in 62.7% of cases (44.8% during the full moon phase). During the nocturnal period, rupture of membranes and dilation periods of less than 3 hours were more common, with 32% of spontaneous membrane rupture occurring during a full moon. A significant dependence was observed between the labor type and nocturnal period, as 40.8% of all spontaneous births, 36.2% of instrumental births and 46.9% of emergency cesarean sections occurred during the night shift. Furthermore, 66.3% of precipitous deliveries (<3 hours) took place during this period. Conclusions: The nocturnal period is related to a higher number of spontaneous rupture of the membranes, non-intervention in the onset of labor, shorter early labor phases, faster deliveries, spontaneous births and emergency caesarean sections. A higher frequency of spontaneous rupture of the membranes, a full labor, early labor phases of less than 3 hours and emergency caesarean sections was observed during full moon phases.

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External influences on birth deliveries: Lunar gravitational and meteorological effects

Cited by 3 publications

References 23 publications

Exploring the mystical relationship between the Moon, Sun, and birth rate

Exploring the mystical relationship between the Moon, Sun, and birth rate

Temporal patterns of weekly births and conceptions predicted by meteorology, seasonal variation, and lunar phases

Current Experience with Obstetrical Events: Characteristics and the Effects of Nocturnal Periods

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