Did you know that some maternity units have more staff available during full moon periods?

I’ve always been fascinated by the effect of the moon on nature, so when a friend’s wife relayed to me what her midwife had told her during the birth of their daughter, I decided to find out more about childbirth, the full moon, and a possible link.

In speaking with various members of the medical staff involved in natural childbirth, the first thing I learned was that pregnant women often experience false signs of labor during the full moon.

Contractions known as “Braxton Hicks”, sometimes noticeable to the mother and sometimes not, become more pronounced and many travel to the maternity unit with the belief that “it is time.” Disappointed, or perhaps relieved, they return home, the pain has subsided and the cervix is ​​not dilated.

While these pregnant women visiting the clinic with their wrong signs of labor are part of the reason additional staff is needed, the main difference is in the number of women whose amniotic sac (the water) ruptures.

Just as some women experience false labor pains, in cases where the breaking of the water marks the beginning of labor, the full moon is the time when it is most likely to occur.

To find out for myself if this could be true, I asked several friends how their labor started. Those who responded “breaking waters” were asked the date of birth. Comparing this to a moon phase graph, I found that almost all of them had given birth on or very close to the full moon.

The theory is that the moon’s gravitational pull affects amniotic fluid in the same way that it affects seawater, rivers, and even water that is otherwise found in our bodies.

As a woman’s body prepares for natural childbirth, the amniotic sac is distended, making the point where it will easily burst if pressed. Under normal circumstances, the pressure of labor contractions bursts the bursa. During a full moon, the pressure caused by the effect of the moon on the water inside the sac can cause the same things to happen, but without the accompanying contractions.

When this happens, natural labor does not always progress and without other signs of labor, the obstetrician may decide to induce labor. During my own study of this phenomenon, I found that of 8 women whose labor began with the breaking of the water on the full moon, 5 of them had no accompanying contractions.

Coincidence? Maybe. But surely midwives wouldn’t prepare for an increase in the natural activity of childbirth if there weren’t some truth to this?

One midwife told me that when it comes to planning delivery, full moons should always be sought at the expected time of delivery. If there is one in a few days on each side, your baby will likely be born that day.

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