Lunar eclipse pregnancy precautions: Can a pregnant woman sleep during an eclipse?

A LUNAR ECLIPSE is about to shroud the Full Moon in darkness over parts of the world. Some lunar eclipse myths claim pregnant women cannot sleep during these occurrences. Express.co.uk separates the eclipse facts from the fiction.

NASA give demonstration on how a lunar eclipse occurs

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The eclipse will unfold early on Wednesday, May 26, but will not be visible from the UK. Instead, the Moon will enter Earth's shadow over the Americas, Pacific, Australia and parts of Southeast Asia. When this happens, the Full Moon will take on a red hue and become the beautiful Blood Moon.

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Can a pregnant woman sleep during an eclipse?

There is absolutely no scientific rationale behind the myth linking insomnia with lunar eclipses.

Aztecs believed a lunar eclipse was a consequence of a bite being taken out of the Moon.

This idea reportedly translated into the Mexican superstition that if a pregnant woman viewed an eclipse of the Moon, a bite would be taken out of her unborn child's face.

And even Hindu text credits the eclipse to the head of the demon dubbed Rahu, who devoured the Moon or Sun.

READ MORE: Eclipse LIVE stream: How to watch the Super Flower Blood Moon eclipse

Pregnant woman sleep during lunar eclipse superstition myths

Lunar eclipse pregnancy precautions: Some claim pregnant woman cannot sleep during an eclipse (Image: Getty)

partial-eclipse

Lunar eclipse pregnancy precautions: Legends warn they could come to harm during an eclipse (Image: Getty)

Other popular eclipse superstitions:

Stay indoors during the eclipse: It has long been believed pregnant women who are in the presence of the eclipse could cause their baby to have facial deformities or birthmarks.

But again – there's not a single rational reason why pregnant women shouldn't stay indoors during an eclipse.

Don't wear metal: Pregnant women should avoid wearing hairpins, some astrology sites continue to advise.

These superstitions cause undue concern by claiming this can trigger facial birth defects.

NASA-lunar-eclipse

Lunar eclipse pregnancy precautions: The science surrounded eclipses is extremely solid (Image: Getty)

time-of-the-partial-eclipse July 2019

Lunar eclipse pregnancy: Mexican superstition claimed eclipses caused babies to be biten (Image: Getty)

However, another popular myth urges expectant mothers to wear metal and red underwear.

Mexican superstitions say wearing a safety pin, or rather more worryingly, a knife close to her belly, in addition to red underwear, offers protection against their baby being born with a cleft palate.

But while the cause of a cleft palate remains a mystery, there has, of course, been no proven links to eclipses during pregnancy.

Indian astrologers also urge pregnant women to avoid using sharp utensils to slice fruit and vegetables.

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    They warn this can cause the unborn baby to develop another cleft organ.

    Obstetricians gynaecologists believe some pregnant in Pakistan might be told warned to lie straight to prevent a baby from developing crooked joints.

    However, Dr Shafia Bhutto told St. Louis Post Dispatch: "There is nothing that will happen to your unborn baby during an eclipse because they are in your uterus."

    And in in India, meanwhile, some expectant mothers are even urged to bathe before and after the eclipse and partake in other religious routines to ward off bad omens associated with the eclipse.