The effect of the lunar cycle on frequency of births and birth complications

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2004.12.034
• Publication Date: 2005-05-19T13:46:30Z
• Authors: Jill M. Arliss; Erin N. Kaplan; Shelley L. Galvin
• Keywords: Birth certificate; Full moon

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the lunar cycle on the frequency of deliveries and/or delivery complications.This was a retrospective cohort, secondary analysis of 564,039 births across 62 lunar cycles that were identified from North Carolina birth certificate data from 1997 to 2001.Using analysis of variance and t-tests, we found no significant differences in the frequency of births, route of delivery, births to multigravid women, or birth complications across the 8 phases of the moon or between documented high- and low-volume intervals of the lunar cycle.An analysis of 5 years of data demonstrated no predictable influence of the lunar cycle on deliveries or complications. As expected, this pervasive myth is not evidence based.