Why Old Wives' Tales Caution Mothers Against Giving Birth On Halloween

A study dating back to 2011 found that fewer children are born on Halloween, on average, when compared to other days of the year. It also revealed that women may be able to impact what day their child is born. The study analyzed all births from 1996 to 2006, between the week before and the week after both Halloween and Valentine's Day, to see if this hypothesis was valid. The researchers found that women were 11.3% less likely to give birth on Halloween than on the other days studied in the research, according to The Guardian. For Valentine's Day, it was 5% more likely a child would be born on this day between the same time frame. 

Scientists knew beforehand that hormones impact the timing of when someone delivers their baby, but what the researchers did discover was that thoughts and the subconscious can play a huge role when those hormones were released, and could help a woman practically "choose the date" her child is born. In other words, women who absolutely wanted no part of having a Halloween baby might physically influence their bodies on a chemical, hormonal level to avoid going into labor near or on Halloween. 

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