High Winds Bring More Babies?

Friday, 29 October 2010 | by Pat's Picks

I’ve never heard this one but apparently there’s an old wives tale that says high winds cause the number of births to jump. And the Star Tribune says this week, it definitely rang true. Minneapolis saw a record low pressure set on Tuesday. And guess what? Births were at an all-time high. Few experts have looked into the phenomenon though one theory is that the stress of waiting out a hurricane can rive some women into early later. But hospitals don’t have time ask questions—the paper says they regularly beef up on staff when a hurricane is in the forecast. There were, however, no reports of storks migrating into the area.

Snopes.com tested the veracity of a number of Old Wives Tales.