It’s a universally accepted theory that the abundance of September birthdays is caused by ‘Christmas conceptions’. Logistically it makes sense. Over the Christmas period we all have some spare time on our hands and are likely to be in good mood following christmas parties, mulled wine and time spent with loved ones.
However, a new studysuggests there is an actual scientific reason why the majority of babies are consumed during the winter months. The research looked at the correlation between seasonal changes and conception, and their findings are pretty fascinating.
They discovered that in winter both men’s sperm quality is highest and women’s ovum receptivity is at its best. These two factors increase the chances of the sperm fertilising an egg, and subsequently conceiving.
It is not just biological changes that make winter a popular time for conception, the drop in temperature has also been proven to increase sexual activity.
Plus, the scientists involved in the study did suggest that all those Christmas parties could have something to do with it.
‘Increased sexual activity associated with end-of-year holiday festivities has also been postulated as a possible behavioural explanation for the December peak in conceptions,’ the study stated.
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