Hoping to get pregnant? Now is the perfect time according to new study that says summer is the best time to get your baby making on if you want a healthy kid.
According to Science magazine, babies who are conceived in summer are healthier than those who are conceived at other times during the year. It's a correlation scientists have probed for some time now. They've noted before that winter births can cause more problems later in life from mental illness to even early death, but looking at the month of conception rather than birth month also allowed them to account for gestational length.
This new study looked at births of siblings in three states between 1994 and 2006, so it ruled out things like economic status. They found significant differences in health depending on when the children were conceived. So, what's the worst month of the year to conceive?
May. According the report, babies conceived in this otherwise lovely spring month are 13 percent more likely to be born premature. Prematurity, of course, is linked to a host of lifelong problems from weaker immune systems to slower cognitive abilities.
The best months to conceive are said to be June through August. Women who conceived during that time gave birth to babies who were 8 grams heavier than those born in other months.
Why? There's some evidence it could have to do with the flu season, and others speculate it could have to do with Vitamin D levels during development. But at this point, they don't know exactly why. It's definitely something that deserves more study though.
As someone who struggled with infertility, I was happy to get pregnant whenever I could. If you have a little more control over your ovaries and such, however, I suppose it's useful information to have when trying to plan your family.
Would you/have you avoided getting pregnant during certain months?
Image via Christopher, Tania and …/Flickr
