A study has revealed that there is a best time of year to try for a baby.
Couples who are trying to get pregnant will know all about fertile windows and the best time of the month to have sex for conception.
But not many people know that the time of year actually matters too - and it seems that the ‘peak’ time for conceiving is late autumn/early winter.
A US/Danish study, published in Human Reproduction, revealed that the odds of conceiving are better in late November, or early December.
THIS is the best time of year to try for a baby
The study was conducted to gather information on “fecundability”, meaning the probability of conceiving within the time span of a menstrual cycle.
Researchers studied 14,331 women in North America and Denmark who were trying to conceive without the aid of fertility treatment and who had been trying to conceive for six months.
Then, each participant filled out surveys every two months until they conceived or until they had been trying for a total of 12 months.
Survey topics included questions on menstruation cycles, frequency of intercourse, diet, income, education level and smoking habits.
The survey found that while couples in both domains are most likely to start TTC in September, the odds of conceiving are better in late November, or early December.
So that’s why there are so many August and September birthdays.
Lead author, Amelia Wesselink said in a press release that they found “a decline in fecundability in the late spring and a peak in the late fall."
Latitude also has a part to play, according to the study.
Dr Wesselink said that “the association was stronger among couples living at lower latitudes” and in southern US states, the women studied saw a 45% increase in pregnancies in late November.