There are a range of old tales about the impact of the moon on pregnant women. Some include warnings that women must wear metal, a safety pin or the color red during an eclipse or blood moon.
No, an eclipse or blood moon will not hurt your baby.
Believe it or not, the fear of an eclipse or a blood moon is actually a real concern to many moms-to-be, dating back to Aztec and Mayan times. Even today many Mexican and Indian cultures are convinced that if a pregnant woman is exposed to a lunar eclipse or blood moon, bad things will happen to the unborn baby, including and not limited to, cleft lips and palates, blindness, birth marks, ugliness, bad teeth and club feet.
Some stories even go so far as to recommend that a woman should not do anything at all during the period of an eclipse or blood moon except sit and rest. Failure to do so would just be tempting fate.
There is, of course, no scientific information to back up this fear of an eclipse. Regardless of the fact it is a story created out of legend, the elders in these cultures will not let any pregnant women out on the nights it occurs because they are generally worried for the health of the baby. Even doctors in India have been known to promote a similar course of action to their patients. A little over-cautious, perhaps? Coincidences can and do occur, which then leads to these tales becoming larger than life.
It only takes one mother of a child with issues, out of thousands, venturing out on the night of an eclipse to start a legend or old wive’s tale. This comes down to many other factors and statistics rather than a tenuous link to an eclipse, although many may tell you otherwise.
No precautions needed, is the general overall consensus offered by reliable medical professionals as it is considered to be 100% safe. There is no scientific reason a blood moon or eclipse would harm your baby.
Of course like many good superstition stories, there is also important advice to ward off the negativity and this includes wearing red underwear, sticking safety pins in the clothing, touching metal (hence the safety pin) and avoiding magnets and sharp objects (other than the safety pin of course).
If you do veer towards the superstitious side then sitting and resting during this period or wearing a safety pin with a red ribbon is easily enough done. But a superstition it is, and a superstition it will remain.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider about any pregnancy concerns.
Susannah is a certified Birth Doula through Childbirth International and the founder of Trimester Talk. With a background in journalism and digital strategy, she combines evidence-based research with real-world knowledge to create accessible content about pregnancy and parenting. She’s a mother of two and stepmother of two more, all of them now teenagers.