Maybe it’s the long winter nights or the festive holiday celebrations, but for whatever reason, most babies in the United States are born nine months following winter.
And that’s not merely speculation.
According to the United Nations Statistics Division, in 2013 – the most recent year for which numbers are available – August saw the highest number of babies born in America, with 353,485 live births that month. The next highest month was July, with 349,158 live births.
In 2012, August once again took the top spot, with 361,114 live births. July followed with the second-highest number again, with 347,542 live births.
“Generally, that’s true,” said Dr. John LaCount, a pediatrician with St. Elizabeth Physicians’ Florence office. “That is what seems to occur – that there aren’t as many babies born in the winter and fall.”
Some other interesting facts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
There are close to 4 million babies born each year in America, and the highest percentage of those births occur during the morning and midday hours, with the highest percentage of births occurring during the 8 a.m. (6.3 percent) and noon (6 percent) hours.
Also, births on Saturdays and Sundays are more likely to occur in the late evening and early morning hours than births Monday through Friday.
But what about the 2013 finding from Princeton University health economists Janet Currie and Hannes Schwandt that babies born in the summer weigh less than babies born in the winter?
Currie’s and Schwandt’s research found that pregnant women who conceived in the summer months gained more weight during their pregnancies and gave birth to babies who were heavier than those born during the summer.
“I don’t know that I can go that far,” LaCount said. “The problem we’re having now is that all babies’ birth weights are going up and it’s difficult to categorize one factor for why that’s happening.”
