REVEALED: ‘The best and worst months to conceive a healthy baby’

Trying to get pregnant? Experts have revealed the best month to conceive a baby - and the month to avoid

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by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

We’ve just hit November - and it’s around this time of year that people start penning their Christmas Wish Lists.

But if you’re more interested in a delivery from the stork than Santa Claus, then you may want to schedule in some time over Christmas.

Why?

Well, because scientists have revealed that women who conceive in December have the best chance of giving birth to a healthy baby, with three extra babies surviving per every 200 pregnancies compared with those conceived in the summer months.

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Researchers at Indiana University looked at data from more than 270,000 pregnancies between 2004 and 2009, and found that women who are able to soak up more sunshine in the later stages of their pregnancy produce more Vitamin D, resulting in healthier babies.

Conceiving in December or January, therefore, is the ideal time to conceive, as it means that your pregnancy will be in the third trimester by the summer months.

So which months should women avoid when trying to conceive?

The research showed that there was a notable slump in healthy babies born around Valentine's Day which is the due date for the June babies, leading experts to dub it the worst month to conceive.

Dr Paul Winchester even went so far as to label it a ‘toxic’ month for conception.

He said: "June is a toxic month. The June effect was something that we saw develop at a very early stage. White mothers have lowest survival rates in June and significantly shorter pregnancies, with premature babies.

“It has been my suspicion that this not accidental but may have some biological basis. Vitamin D levels and pesticides might be relevant factors.

"If you want to avoid a birth defect or a premature birth then it might be worth avoiding June. Other studies have shown that spina bifida incidence and sudden infant death peaks in June."

The research was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Baltimore.

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