These are the Months Most Women Get Pregnant
Raise your hand if you are a September baby!
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If you've noticed that a lot of your friends and family celebrate their birthdays in the fall, it may not be a coincidence. A new study is saying baby fever kicks in for many during a certain time each year and it has a lot to do with feeling festive.
A new study from the University of Indiana found that spikes in pregnancies are actually rooted in holidays and not biology. For the study, researchers examined the web searches and Twitter trends in 130 countries as evidence.
"The rise of the web and social media provides the unprecedented power to analyze changes in people's collective mood and behavior on a massive scale," said Luis M. Rocha, a professor who co-led the study. "This study is the first 'planetary-level' look at human reproduction as it relates to people's moods and interest in sex online."
So what did researchers find? Turns out, an interest in sex surged during cultural or religious celebrations--like Christmas. So while people are feeling festive, there tends to be a surge in births nine months later, making the most popular birth month September.
Researchers noted this is not just a trend in America but all over the world. They say this effect was observed in two different cultures with the greatest spike of internet searches and Twitter trends occurring during major holiday celebrations: Christmas in Christian-majority countries and Eid al-Fitr, the celebration that marks the end of Ramadan, in Muslim-majority countries. With the spike of interest, a spike in births occurred nine months later.
"We observe that Christmas and Eid-Al-Fitr are characterized by distinct collective moods that correlate with increased fertility," said Rocha. "Perhaps people feel a greater motivation to grow their families during holidays when the emphasis is on love and gift-giving to children."
So if you are thinking about adding a new baby to your family but not sure the timing is right, maybe you just need to wait until the next holiday season. However, if you are welcoming a bundle of joy and need a little help planning your baby shower, here's the latest trends in gender neutral shower decor.
