A birthrate decrease around the ghoulish holiday suggests that pregnant women could be controlling their due dates.
New research has revealed a significant dip in the number of induced births and caesareans in the two week period surrounding Halloween.
The 31st October saw a 5% decrease in spontaneous births, whilst the total of caesareans dropped by 17% on the spooky day.
In contrast, Valentine’s Day saw an increased birthrate with a 4% rise in spontaneous births and 12% boost in caesareans.
The discrepancy between the number of babies born on the day of Dracula and those born on the day of love could indicate that women are becoming increasingly superstitious; consciously or not.
“It appears that pregnant women can expedite or delay spontaneous births within a limited time frame in response to cultural representations,” wrote Becca Levy and her co-authors in the study published by the Journal of Social Science and Medicine.
One Hollywood couple weren’t spooked by the freaky holiday though- Will and Jada Smith will be celebrating daughter Willow’s birthday next week.
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