The Lunar Effect .... are more babies born under a full moon?
It’s certainly a widely held belief that goes way back with people around the world having a deep faith in the moons physiology.
Giving birth, conception and fertility can all be linked to moon phases as well as other non pregnancy related behaviours, such as outbreaks of insanity.
There certainly is a lot of anecdotal proof of this being the case. I know many a midwife, myself included, that have experienced some of the busiest shifts under the light of a full moon. However, placing anecdotal and some anomolous statistical evidence aside, there is little proof that more babies are born on a full moon sadly, despite my love of a good spooky moon story. My cognitive bias is likely to play a role in my belief that more babies are born, or waters break on a full moon supporting my beliefs and ignoring evidence to the contrary.
Studies dating back to the 1950’s up until the current date have found no real connection between the full moon and birth rates.
Common misconceptions are that the moons gravity is extremely powerful since it affects the tides; in fact it’s a relatively weak gravitational force, and one likely to have little effect on the human body. And the gravitational force that effects the tides isn’t even phase related; it’s a function of how far the moon is from Earth at any given time, which is different from the phase the moon is in.
.... despite this, I still feel that there is some connection, no doubt along with thousands of other midwives - my cognitive bias is a little too deep rooted here I think!
