Open AccessThe effect of the lunar cycle on frequency of births: A retrospective observational study in Indian population
Author(s) -
Saswata Bharati,
M. Z. I. Sarkar,
Partha Haldar,
Swapan Kumar Jana,
Shramana Mandal
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
indian journal of public health/indian journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.381
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 2229-7693
pISSN - 0019-557X
DOI - 10.4103/0019-557x.99913
Subject(s) - full moon , observational study , retrospective cohort study , demography , population , medicine , surgery , biology , environmental health , ecology , pathology , sociology
For ancient period moon has been held responsible for many biological activities. That way, lunar cycle, by activity of moon, has been held responsible for increase in number of child birth. In this retrospective, observational study, we examined a total of 9890 full-term spontaneous deliveries as well as non-elective cesarean sections that occurred throughout 12 lunar months (February 7 th , 2008-January 25 th , 2009) in a rural medical college to evaluate the influence of the lunar position on the distribution of deliveries among Indian population. Student's 't' test and ANOVA were used for statistical analysis where each delivery was considered as a single measure. We found no significant differences in the frequency of births during various phase of lunar cycle regardless of route of delivery. Our observations do not support the hypothesis of a relationship between lunar cycle and the frequency of obstetric deliveries.