( CNN ) Newly married , Zhang Xun was keen to try for a baby -- at least until friends told her that any child born in the upcoming Year of the Sheep would face a lifetime of bad luck . Perturbed , she convinced her husband to delay their plans to conceive . They now hope to have a baby in 2016 - the Year of the Monkey , according to the Chinese lunar calendar . `` I 'm just superstitious , '' she told CNN . One of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac , the sheep gets a bad rap . Many people believe that sheep babies end up with characteristics associated with their birth signs -- docile and destined to be followers , not leaders . According to one common folk saying , only one in 10 people born in the Year of the Sheep find happiness . Zhang says she had n't heard of the superstition until recently but chooses to believe it nonetheless . She discovered her cousin was a sheep and his parents got divorced , she says . `` I do n't really care what zodiac sign my baby is , but it better not be sheep , '' she told CNN . Many couples have rushed to give birth in the current Year of the Horse , thought to be a more auspicious sign , or put off pregnancy , like Zhang , according to media reports . And some hospitals say they 're seeing fewer expectant mothers as the new year approaches . According to the Chinese lunar calendar , the Year of the Sheep ( sometimes called ram or goat ) begins on February 19 . `` The number of pregnancies registered recently has seen a marked decline , '' an obstetric nurse from the International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital in Shanghai told CNN . Academics say despite the anecdotal evidence , there 's no reason to believe the birth rate during sheep years varies on a national scale . Duan Chengrong , a professor of demography at Renmin University , analyzed population data from 1954 to 2002 and says that the avoidance of childbirth in sheep years is a `` myth '' that does not stand up to analysis . He calls it a `` social phenomenon '' that 's more common in northern China than the south . A native of Chongqing , he said he 'd never heard of it when he was a child . However , the perception of bad luck for those born in the Year of the Sheep has become so rife that state media have carried a string of reports in recent months that attempt to debunk the myth . One listed famous people born in the Year of the Sheep . They included Bill Gates , Steve Jobs , Mark Twain , Jay Chou and Zhang Ziyi . It 's not clear exactly how sheep became so maligned . Each of the 12 animals has it virtues and flaws , with the dragon , horse and tiger considered the luckiest . Isaac Yue , who teaches Chinese mythology at the University of Hong Kong , says the sheep was associated with compassion and filial piety -- important qualities praised by ancient scholars but these virtues have fallen out of favor.. `` The modern interpretation is that it 's naive and innocent , '' he said . Even those well-versed in the cosmic arts of fortune telling say the weight placed on a baby 's birth year is misguided . `` The month , date and exact time of birth are more important in the lunar calendar than the year , '' says Kerby Kuek , a Hong Kong-based practitioner of feng shui . He says he 's often asked by couples to pick the best time to have a baby and some schedule C-sections to secure the luckiest slot . Zhang Xue , a college senior from Beijing , was born in the Year of the Sheep . She said she grew up hearing the myth , but she never believed it . Yet the coming lunar year still means a lot to Zhang . It will be her benmingnian -- her year in the twelve-year cycle that in Chinese tradition is often thought to bring challenges and change . It 's when she will graduate from college and enter the real world , as she puts it . She is both anxious and excited about how things will unfold but Zhang is confident that whatever happens , it will have little to do with her zodiac sign . `` I think my fate is under my control , '' she says .
Some Chinese couples are putting off pregnancy to avoid `` sheep babies '' Superstition says people born in the Year of the Sheep face bad luck . But demographers say no evidence this effects the birth rate .