As I hoped, I believe the full moon did play a factor. Here is some research stolen from another friends blog:
Did you know that some maternity units actually have more staff available during periods of full moon? I’ve always been fascinated by the moon’s effect on nature, so when a friend’s wife conveyed to me what her midwife had told her during the birth of their daughter, I decided to find out more about childbirth, full moon and a possible link.
On speaking to various medical staff involved in natural childbirth, the first thing I learned was that expectant mothers often experience false signs of labor during full moon. Contractions known as “Braxton Hicks” — sometimes noticeable to the mother and sometimes not — become more pronounced and many travel to the maternity unit in the belief that “it’s time”. Disappointed — or perhaps relieved — they return home, the pains having subsided with no dilation of the cervix.
While these expectant mothers visiting the clinic with their mistaken signs of labor are part of the reason why extra staff are needed, the major difference is found in the number of women whose amniotic sac — the water — breaks.
Just as some women experience false labor pains, in cases where the water breaking marks the start of childbirth, full moon is the time when it’s most likely to happen. In order to discover for myself whether this could be true, I asked several female friends how their births had started. Those who responded with “the water breaking” were then asked the date of the birth. On checking this against a moon phase chart, I discovered that almost all had given birth on, or very close to, a full moon.
The theory is that the moon’s gravitational pull effects the amniotic fluid in much the same way as it effects the water in the sea, rivers and even the water that’s otherwise found in our bodies.
“There are published works that show that there is such a relationship. One study looked at 5,927,978 French births occurring between the months of January 1968 and the 31st December 1974. Using spectral analysis, it was shown that there are two different rhythms in birth frequencies: –a weekly rhythm characterized by the lowest number of births on a Sunday and the largest number on a Tuesday and an annual rhythm with the maximum number of births in May and the minimum in September-October. A statistical analysis of the distribution of births in the lunar month shows that more are born between the last quarter and the new moon, and fewer are born in the first quarter of the moon. The differences between the distribution observed during the lunar month and the theoretical distribution are statistically significant.” – Source: Full moon, Gravitational Pull and Childbirth, Birthsource.com
As a woman’s body prepares for natural childbirth, the amniotic sac becomes distended so the point where it will easily burst if put under pressure. Under normal circumstances, the pressure of labor contractions bursts the sac. During a full moon, the pressure caused by the moon’s effect on the water inside the sac can cause the same things to happen, but without the accompanying contractions.
When this happens, natural childbirth doesn’t always move forward and with no other signs of labor present, the obstetrician may decide to induce the birth. During my own study of this phenomenon I found that of 8 women whose births started with the water breaking at full moon, 5 of them had no accompanying contractions. A coincidence? Perhaps. But surely midwives wouldn’t prepare themselves for an increase in natural childbirth activity if there wasn’t some truth in this?
One midwife told me that when it comes to planning childbirth, full moons should always be looked for around the time of the expected delivery. If there’s one within a few days either side, the chances are your baby will be born on that day.
If you noticed the line that mentions water breaking during the full moon, and no contractions...this is exactly what happened to me. My water broke at 6:30 AM, a slow trickle with no contractions. Since I wanted a natural birth I wanted to avoid an induction as much as possible. I spent the morning anticipating the birth of my daughter, and trying to bring on contractions, with a brisk walk. No such luck. After seeing my doctor about 11 it was confirmed that my water has in fact broken. My doctor and I decided that I would continue to wait out contractions until 6:30. About four a few irregular contractions appeared, but nothing consistent. Finally 6:00 PM arrived and it was time to go to the hospital. I knew due to the risk of infection the doctors would not allow me to go more then 24 hours with my water broken, and chose to take a mild pill designed to induce labor, but not be as sever as Petocin. Honestly if I had know there were mild forms of induction I might have gone into the hospital earlier.
An all night labor was not fun, and made for a very sleepy Momma after Zoe was born. If I had to do it again I might have chosen another route simply so that I could of had more energy for when Zoe arrived.
The funny part is that I did end up asking for an epidural. Not because I was in pain, but because I was simply exhausted, and wasn't sure how much more I could endure. However, after beginning preparations for the epidural they decided to check me and found out that I was fully dilated, and ready to begin pushing. I was feeling the urge to push but was in denial about being ready. I was one of the lucky few as my birth instructor said that actually got a break before pushing. My pain was mild, and seemed to subsided, which made me believe that my contractions were dissipating. I could only think, "oh no!" "my contractions are going away, I'm sure I'll have to have a c-section in the morning". It was my mother who pointed out to the nurses that she thought I was ready. I'm glad she was there!
Labor was a long ordeal, but in the end I was glad I made it through naturally. I might have been exhausted, but Zoe was spry, rolling back and forth already on the examining table. Many people attribute this to the lack of medication during delivery.
I now have a beautiful baby girl. Born October 2, 2012. 6 lbs 4 oz 19.5 inches long.
