Abirbhab Pal1
BACKGROUND
From ancient period, moon has been held responsible for many biological
activities. The lunar cycle has long been thought to have many chemical & physical
effects on human beings especially women. The menstrual cycle, conception,
delivery and even fertility have been closely linked to the moon’s cycles. The
relation of lunar phases to the birth rate has been the focus of considerable
research with still controversial results. We wanted to study the moon phases with
regard to birth rate, relationship between lunar position and the time of delivery,
preterm delivery, intrauterine fetal death (IUFD), instrumental delivery, normal
vaginal delivery (NVD), lower segment Caesarean section (LSCS) and multiple
pregnancy.
METHODS
Retrospective data from daily antenatal mother admissions, and delivery rates
present in the public domain of a tertiary care hospital of Midnapore Medical
College, Midnapore, India from 1st Oct 2019 to 30th Sept 2020 was evaluated with
one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
RESULTS
Delivery rates were not related to lunar 1st quarter, full moon, new moon, and last
quarter of lunar cycle with total delivery (P < 0.05), LSCS (P > 0.05), NVD (P >
0.05), instrumental delivery (P > 0.05), twin delivery (P > 0.05), and IUFD (P >
0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Birth rates do not correlate with phases of the moon.
