Try for a baby at Christmas

Official figures show that 85 percent of British women aged 16 to 49 have low folic acid levels.

Official figures show that 85 percent of British women aged 16 to 49 have low folic acid levels.

Published Nov 3, 2015

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London - Couples should try for a baby at Christmas for the best chance of success, according to research.

Analysis of around 52 million pregnancies over the course of 12 years found December conceptions result in the highest birth rates.

And couples should avoid trying to conceive in the summer months, scientists from Indiana University claimed.

Paediatrician Dr Paul Winchester, who led the US research team, said mothers who conceive in December or January receive high levels of sunshine at a late stage of their pregnancy.

This raises the levels of vitamin D they get, which promotes a healthy birth. Mothers who conceive in June, meanwhile, are at the earliest, most vulnerable stage of pregnancy when there are lots of pesticides in the air from summer crop dusting, Dr Winchester said.

His team found there was a much higher birth rate in September – children who had been conceived in December – than at any other time in the year. They realised these results could be skewed if more people were trying to get pregnant in December.

So the researchers analysed the success of couples who tried to have children through IVF, so they could see exactly how many attempts there had been. They analysed 433 764 IVF cycles and found those started between December and February were four percent more likely to result in a healthy baby than the cycles started in June.

The team, presenting their results at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine meeting in Baltimore, wrote: “This raises the question of whether seasonal effects of chemicals and Vitamin D status influence the success of IVF pregnancy.”

Dr Winchester said that although his most striking results were from IVF, the same trend was likely to apply to all couples. He claimed it made evolutionary sense for women to give birth in September, when food was traditionally harvested, the weather is still warm and there is time for a baby to grow strong before the coldest months.

Dr Winchester also analysed data from 1900 – when March was the month with the highest birth rate in the US, rather than September. He pointed out that this pattern changed dramatically after pesticides became widely used in the 1930s. “Babies conceived in June disappeared in the pesticide era,” he said.

And he advised women considering trying for a baby in Europe or the US should avoid conceiving in “toxic June”.

Daily Mail

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