Yale University, School of Public Health, Division of Social & Behavioral Sciences, 60 College Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8034, United States.
Soc Sci Med. 2011 Oct;73(8):1246-8. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.07.008. Epub 2011 Jul 28.
It is known that cultural representations, in the form of stereotypes, can influence functional health. We predicted that the influence of cultural representations, in the form of salient holidays, would extend to birth timing. On Valentine's Day, which conveys positive symbolism, there was a 3.6% increase in spontaneous births and a 12.1% increase in cesarean births. Whereas, on Halloween, which conveys negative symbolism, there was a 5.3% decrease in spontaneous births and a 16.9% decrease in cesarean births. These effects reached significance at p < .0001, after adjusting for year and day of the week. The sample was based on birth-certificate information for all births in the United States within one week on either side of each holiday across 11 years. The Valentine's-Day window included 1,676,217 births and the Halloween window included 1,809,304 births. Our findings raise the possibility that pregnant women may be able to control the timing of spontaneous births, in contrast to the traditional assumption, and that scheduled births are also influenced by the cultural representations of the two holidays.
已知文化表征（以刻板印象的形式）会影响身体健康。我们预测，以突出节日的形式表现出的文化表征会对分娩时间产生影响。在传递积极象征意义的情人节，自然分娩增加了 3.6%，剖腹产增加了 12.1%。而在传递消极象征意义的万圣节，自然分娩减少了 5.3%，剖腹产减少了 16.9%。这些影响在调整了年份和星期日后，达到了 p <.0001 的显著水平。该样本基于美国在 11 年间每个节日前后一周内的所有出生的出生证明信息。情人节窗口包括 1676217 例分娩，万圣节窗口包括 1809304 例分娩。我们的研究结果表明，孕妇可能能够控制自然分娩的时间，这与传统观点相反，而且这两个节日的文化表征也会影响计划分娩的时间。
