It is claimed by some that the number of births occurring at the time of the full moon is greater than other phases of the lunar cycle; however, many publications fail to substantiate the claim leading to the conclusion it is myth. We tested using a novel approach the null hypotheses: (i) human birth is not lunar cycle-dependent and (ii) the number of births occurring at or around the time of the full moon is not different from the number occurring at the time of the other phases of the lunar cycle. We reviewed the birth records from 1 January 1996 to 16 March 2007 of the obstetric department of our hospital, which was then located in a relatively undeveloped area of Fukutsu city in Fukuoka Prefecture of southern Japan. A total of 1507 births satisfied all inclusion criteria, among others, being full-term and following spontaneously initiated labor. When the birth data were analyzed as done by other investigators, i.e. total number of births per lunar day, lunar phase was not found to be influential. However, more detailed analyses on the subset of babies born specifically during the nighttime hours (N = 362) revealed the number of births varied in relation specifically to the changing amount of moonlight during the nighttime at different stages of the lunar cycle, with highest number of births at or around the time of the full moon. In contrast, analyses on the subset of babies born specifically during the daytime hours (N = 377) revealed the number of births varied in relation specifically to the changing amount moonlight during the daytime at different stages of the lunar cycle, with the highest number of births at or around the time of the new moon. The initiation and culmination of human birth are typically a nocturnal process. The findings of this investigation are consistent with the hypothesis natural nighttime parturition is influenced by lunar phase, particularly the full moon, and, thus, they are consistent with the belief the moon exerts an affect upon the timing of human birth. We speculate the long-hold belief of the association between birth and lunar phase may be based on historical observations that in the absence of artificial light at night nocturnal births occurred in elevated number when the full moon brightly illuminated the nighttime sky.

有人声称，在满月时发生的分娩数目比月球周期的其他阶段要多。但是，许多出版物未能证实这一说法，从而得出结论是神话。我们使用一种新颖的方法对零假设进行了检验：（i）人类的出生与月球周期无关，并且（ii）在满月时或前后发生的出生数量与发生在月球发生时的数量没有区别。月球周期的其他阶段。我们回顾了我院妇产科1996年1月1日至2007年3月16日的出生记录，当时该科位于日本南部福冈县福津市相对较不发达的地区。共有1507例婴儿符合所有纳入标准，其中包括：是足月的并且自发从事劳动。当像其他调查员一样分析出生数据时，即每个阴历日的出生总数，发现阴历相没有影响。然而，对专门在夜间出生的婴儿的子集进行的更详细分析（N = 362）显示，在月球周期的不同阶段，婴儿的出生数量与夜间的月光变化特别相关，最高在满月或前后的出生人数。相比之下，对专门在白天出生的婴儿子集（N = 377）进行的分析显示，在月球周期的不同阶段，新生儿的数量与白天月光的变化量特别相关，在新月左右出生的时候数量最多。人类出生的开始和结束通常是夜行过程。这项调查的结果与假说自然夜间分娩受月相，尤其是满月影响的假设相符，因此，与月球对人类出生时机产生影响的信念是一致的。我们推测，长期以来一直认为出生与月相之间的关联可能是基于历史观察，即在夜间没有人造光的情况下，当满月明亮地照亮了夜空时，夜间出生的人数增加了。这项调查的结果与假说自然夜间分娩受月相，特别是满月影响的假设相符，因此，与月球对人类出生时间有影响的信念相一致。我们推测，长期以来一直认为出生与月相之间的关联可能是基于历史观察，即在夜间没有人造光的情况下，当满月明亮地照亮了夜空时，夜间出生的人数增加了。这项调查的结果与假说自然夜间分娩受月相，尤其是满月影响的假设相符，因此，与月球对人类出生时机产生影响的信念是一致的。我们推测，长期以来一直认为出生与月相之间的关联可能是基于历史观察，即在夜间没有人造光的情况下，当满月明亮地照亮了夜空时，夜间出生的人数增加了。