Superstitious Bulgarian expecting mothers have driven doctors mad in insisting on delivering their baby exactly at 12 noon on December 12, 2012.

The Bulgarian Standard daily reports Wednesday that scores of women and their relatives are even offering hefty bribes to secure that the baby is born on this day, if not exactly at 12 o'clock, at least before midnight.

The publication quotes medical staff at maternity wards saying they have been inundated with requests to have a cesarean performed Wednesday, some even 3 weeks ahead of the expected delivery date. They warn mothers-to-be to not believe in psychics, but in doctors, and to not ask to give birth earlier than their term because of health risks such as the baby being born with underdeveloped lungs.

Weddings also register a boom Wednesday – 60 couples will get married in the capital Sofia, 5 of them exactly at 12 noon. 23 couples will tie the knot in the Black Sea city of Burgas with the youngest bride being 23 and the oldest – 58.

Over 15 weddings will take place in the cities of Varna, Sliven, Yambol, Dobrich, and Ruse.

The Ancient Mayan calendar speaks of 12-12-2012 as the end of times as we know it, and the beginning of a new cycle of evolution for planet earth, humanity and the universe. Mayan elders say that the Ancients were informing the modern world to be ready for a giant transformation for the human race. Interestingly, traditions across the world including Buddhism, Tao, Hopi and Vedic knowledge predict a 'Golden Age' or 'Satyug' in their calendars around the same period. December 2012 is being looked upon as a significant spiritual event and a momentous shift in the collective consciousness of the planet.