The influence of the moon phases on the outcome of obstetric labor

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In many societies around the world there is a belief that relates the lunar cycle to the
frequency of births, especially due to the influence of the full moon. Although most studies find no
relationship between the different lunar phases and the frequency of spontaneous births, this belief still
exists even among health professionals.
OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the increase in the percentage of births due to spontaneous births during the
full moon compared to the other phases.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: cohort, retrospective, observational and analytical study. The population
will be made up of pregnant women who enter our Institution in spontaneous labor. The time will be
between 01/01/2021 and 01/31/2022. The data was obtained from the Delivery Book of the Clinic's
Obstetrics and Gynecology Service. Data analysis was performed by calculating the mean, median, and
quartiles for the categorical variables, using the R software, version x644.1.1, and the Chi2 Test.
RESULTS: Between January 2021 and 2022, there were a total of 1,003 spontaneously triggered births,
including both term and preterm births. No statistical difference could be demonstrated in the distribution
of births by sex between the different lunar phases (P < 0.8). Considering the gestational ages, the median
was 39 weeks, the mean 38.5 weeks, the minimum 22 weeks, and the maximum 41.4 weeks. Regarding the
distribution of the number of births with the different lunar phases, we obtained that during the New Moon
phase the total was 275 (27.4%), in the First Quarter phase it was 212 (21.1%), in Full Moon of 264 (26.3%)
and in Last Quarter of 252 (25.1%). No significant statistical relationship was found between the variables
of number of births and the different lunar phases. When we analyzed the complications and observations
of labor presented, it was found that their number was 176. The most frequent was premature rupture of the
membranes, with a total of 162 cases (92%).
CONCLUSIONS: The main focus of this study is to analyze the influence of the different lunar phases,
which are four, including new moon, crescent moon, full moon, last quarter, which last approximately 7.4
days each with a total duration of 29.6 days. each lunation, these form a total of approximately 12 lunations
per year with the increase in spontaneous labor in our environment, Reina Fabiola University Clinic, not
including those induced labors or scheduled cesarean sections. The statistical interpretation that we obtained
establishes that the variables are independent of each other and are not associated, that is, no significant
differences were found between the number of births and the different lunar phases, small variations are
seen with respect to the different lunations that vary from month by month without maintaining a constant
difference between each lunar phase.
Our results did not show significant differences with respect to births in the different lunar phases.
The limitations of this study include selection and information biases, since it is an observational study. On
the other hand, outcomes such as miscarriages and second-trimester evacuations were not analyzed within
complications.