Comments on: Coming in late summer — human baby season

By: Rich Keller

Rich Keller — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 05:27:00 +0000

I asked someone about the kids she had that were born during August. She said it was Thanksgiving.

By: pjcamp

pjcamp — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 03:13:00 +0000

Baby season? Hot damn! We finally get to hunt babies again!

By: Beth Skwarecki

Beth Skwarecki — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 23:44:00 +0000

For those who would like to see for themselves, you can download international births-by-month data here: http://data.un.org/Search.aspx?q=births+by+month

Don’t forget that sex is necessary but not sufficient for conception – other aspects of fertility can be affected by hormones, environment, etc.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 22:56:00 +0000

I can’t help reading that in David Attenborough voice.

By: chgoliz

chgoliz — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:16:00 +0000

You must live in the US, where there is national, state, and local antagonism against learning the basics of human sexuality and contraception.

Believe it or not, it is quite possible to make a rational decision on when would be best to have children.

edited to add: A summer baby (say, June) would be conceived around September. To “make nookie” in the middle of winter (say, January) without contraception could result in a baby around September. Guess I should have added “biology” to the list of subjects that people in the US are deficient in.

By: starfish and coffee

starfish and coffee — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:24:00 +0000

No, I’m with jackie31337 on this one. I grew up in the Nordics myself and it’s the way of life to attempt to time your births – i.e. by timing your use of contraceptives. My mum always makes a point out of my brother and me being intentionally timed to be born late spring/early summer.
Get a late autumn/early winter baby and you risk being stuck with your newborn baby indoors for weeks.

By: rocketpjs

rocketpjs — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:43:00 +0000

Since when do the kids get any say in when they are born?

I know my wife didn’t want to be 9 months pregnant in the heat of summer, but even the parents don’t get much of a say on exact dates or timing.

I think your logic is a bit flawed. Kids come from sex, which is the determining factor in births, not the temperature or availability of friends for birthday parties. I’d change your logic to say that ‘harsh winters make the prospect of staying home and making nookie much more likely than in the summer, when it is possible to do other things – hence summer babies.

By: jackie31337

jackie31337 — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:36:00 +0000

In Finland there is definitely a seasonality to births. Harsh winters make the prospect of bundling your baby up and going out in the cold for a walk unappealing, so more babies tend to be born in the spring and summer. I’m not sure what the peak months are, but kids don’t like having a birthday during the summer vacation when schools and daycares are out and their friends are all away. I would guess June and July are not as popular as May and August.

By: Jen Onymous

Jen Onymous — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:12:00 +0000

Damn, I misunderstood the meaning of the article title. I thought that human babies would be in season soon; especially in late summer when their parents take them all over the damn place and let them run rampant.

I have a big enough oven to fit in a few at a time, and the leftovers make great soup.

By: Freddie Freelance

Freddie Freelance — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:53:00 +0000

Do the math, subtract 9 months and those babies are coming 9 months after the period between Halloween & Christmas.

By: rocketpjs

rocketpjs — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:40:00 +0000

It’s cold in winter. There tend to be baby booms 9 months after a major power outage.

Also, lots of people feel cuddly around Xmas.

By: JohnnyLA

JohnnyLA — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:09:00 +0000

I would like to see data from Asian countries, especially China.

All of my friends who are Chinese and Taiwanese are born in April within a week or so, around 5 people. The spread is also generational since they range from age 25-55. Might be coincidence but it would be neat to find out if there a correlation. Maybe there are more births just past the Chinese Lunar New Year?

And..I was one of those boring Sept. birthday babies. :)