OMG. Pregnant women who have a due date that is on or around February 29 are probably shaking in their boots right now about whether or not they will wind up having a leap year baby. And while it might seem like kind of a cool and unique thing to some, my guess is that plenty of other moms will see having a baby born on leap year as just one more thing to completely stress out over as the child grows up.
In most cases, you're at the mercy of Mother Nature when it comes to what day your baby makes his/her entrance into the world. However, more and more women are starting to schedule their births just like any other major event on their calendars. And while inducing labor isn't exactly the most natural way of going through delivery, I'd totally do it to avoid having a baby born on February 29. Because it would really suck to have a leap year baby.
Can you even begin to imagine the stress that goes along with having a child's actual birthday only fall once every four years? I mean -- birthday parties are tough enough to try and set a date for when your kid has a "normal" one that falls on the same day every year. But how exactly do you choose which day to celebrate on with a leap year baby? Is the kid's birthday on February 28 or March 1? Or somewhere in between?
And don't even get me started on the potential teasing at school that could go down once your leap year baby grows up. What is he supposed to say when the other kids ask him how old he is? Somehow I think it must be kind of tough for a kindergartner to explain that even though he's technically 5 years old, he's actually only 1-and-a-half or so because his birthday only shows up once every 4 years. That's confusing enough for an adult to try and comprehend, let alone a kid.
Without a doubt, pregnant women who are checking into the hospital to be induced today are definitely making the right move. If there was ever a good reason to induce labor, then avoiding a lifetime of stress and confusion over your chlid's birthday absolutely takes the cake.
Would you want to be induced to avoid having a leap year baby?
Image via sabianmaggy/Flickr
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Comments 33
I actually know a woman who was born on a leap year. We went to elementary school together. There was no teasing or bullying. She survived just fine.
Wait, that is so stupid. Why would I be induced on Feb 28th? I'm MORE likely to end up with a Feb 29th baby! Induction takes time. I started my induction at noon November 14th. He was born at noon November 15th. Unless I'm going in for a scheduled Csection...
on what planet do you live? Do you have any idea what all the risks are for inductions???? They should only be done when medically necessary. I can't imagine anyone being tease about a leap yr birth, in fact it would be a neat and different type birthday. So what if you celebrate some on the 28th or the 1st. Do children need to start conforming before they are even born for just in case there is a bully? Should you dye your child's red hair so they don't get called carrot top? Seriously this is stupid.
0.o I keep waiting to read the punchline but there isn't one.
I hope this is satire.
Inducing is dangerous, all of my children were medically induced and if I could have prevented it, I would have but I am a diabetic and preeclampysia is scary.
Pitocin sucks and brings on incredibly painful contractions, cervidil is difficult too.
That is so. freaking. dumb. What a reason to induce, because you don't like the possible date of their birth, just like when it was Halloween women were apparently inducing to avoid that? What the hell? Maybe I'm weird but I'd love a leap year baby or Halloween baby. Leap Year won't ever be possible for us, and we missed this year's Halloween, but if I don't get pregnant before next Feburary, we'll get lucky.