“Fright night just got a little bit spookier. Pregnant women have their own little trick on Halloween – they seem able to time the delivery of their baby to avoid giving birth on this day.
Rebecca Levy at Yale School of Public Health and colleagues examined 1.8 million US birth records from 1996 to 2006, and found that birth rates dropped by 11.3 per cent on 31 October, when compared with the two-week window surrounding the date. The significant declines in deliveries on Halloween applied to natural births as well as scheduled caesarean and induced births….
Levy suggests that Halloween’s associations with death and evil are in direct contrast with the idea of creating life and may subconsciously affect a woman’s desire to give birth.” (via New Scientist).
Related:
- Are pregnant women refusing to give birth on Halloween? [Pregnancy] (io9.com)
- Do women avoid giving birth on Halloween? (hotair.com)
- Well Blog: Really? The Claim: Holidays Can Affect When Expectant Mothers Deliver (well.blogs.nytimes.com)
- Women Defy Biology to Not Give Birth on Halloween (neatorama.com)
- Move Halloween From October 31st To Last Saturday Of Month? “Today’s Stupid News, In Brief.” [10/26/11] (wirk.radio.com)
