Private doctors expect to be fully booked for Caesarean sections on December 12 this year - or 12/12/12, the last triple such date of the century and a day some couples consider lucky or auspicious.
But doctors advise against opting for a Caesarean section over a natural birth just for the sake of choosing the baby's birthday. They say there is still a risk to the health of mother and baby from surgery, despite advances in medical technology.
Fung shui master Mak Ling-ling said 12/12/12 was not a particularly lucky day from a geomantic point of view. The fung shui literature did not indicate it was a favourable date for giving birth, she said.
In fact the prediction is that babies born that day will be emotional and tense, although they will excel in academic work.
Obstetricians said couples who want to have a chance of having a baby born on 12/12/12 will have to conceive by the end of this month.
Although in vitro fertilisation can increase the chance of pregnancy, Emily Lam Po-mui, a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology, said couples should not rely on that technology as a means of controlling the birth date.