Was the doctor wrong in calculating the estimated due date, or did the full moon change everything? My older daughter was born during a full moon, on a stormy night. She was about 8 days early, and that got me to thinking that maybe the moon had a major influence in her early arrival. She wasn't premature. She was within term, just about a week earlier than the due date.
I would have left this to coincidence, if it wasn't for the fact that a couple of my relatives claim that the full moon has affected what they do for a living. One of them was my grandmother. She was a labor and delivery nurse for most of her life. She claimed that more children were born on full moons than any other time in her career. I've heard similar claims from other labor and delivery nurses. In fact, after a little research, I found that most maternity wards up the number of help on staff during full moons. The other relative is my husband. Being a ship captain, full moons affect the water in the seas and rivers he has traversed.
So, is there a link between the full moon and childbirth? Research has shown that there are a lot of women who come in to the maternity ward during a full moon. Are all of them actually in labor? Some actually just have more pronounced Braxton Hicks contractions (or, in other words, they are experiencing false labor). Those who are within term, though, often are experiencing real labor. Could it be that the full moon has just hastened the arrival of these babies? I think so. Research has shown that the water in the amniotic sacs of pregnant women are more likely to break during a full moon - that is, if the woman's body is already preparing for childbirth. If the amniotic sac has already begun its distention, it is more likely that it will break with the gravitational pull of the moon. The full moon simply helps it along.
If the full moon has helped a woman's water break, the biggest sign is whether or not contractions follow. If contractions do not follow, it is more likely that the gravitational pull of the moon had something to do with it. If contractions do follow, maybe the doctor just miscalculated the due date. After all, science isn't always as accurate as some might wish it was.