Christmas Day is the least likely day of the year to be born on, and there are quite a few reasons why that is, but none of them are anything to do with Santa Claus, elves, or Christmas magic.
You’ve no doubt noticed that today is Christmas Day.
Around the world, people stop what they’re doing to spend time with family, enjoy a huge meal, and open a few presents, if they are lucky enough to be able to.
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However, for many families the ultimate present would be a baby of their own, but Christmas Day is statistically the day when the lowest number of new children are born.
Significantly so, in fact.
But why would that be?
After all, babies born at Christmas are usually conceived in late March, that’s hardly an interesting time of the year, nor is it a period where no-one is getting it on.
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But, this is a worldwide thing, spanning many countries.
In an article for The Conversation in 2019, economist Jay Zagorsky said: “Dec. 25 is the least popular day in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand to give birth. In England, Wales and Ireland, it’s the second-least popular, behind Dec. 26, when Brits celebrate Boxing Day.”
Specific to the USA, more research was done by Stacy Dickert-Conlin and Amitabh Chandra, who looked at all days and births between 1978 and 1992 – not a short time, then – and found Christmas Day to be the least likely birthday.
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Well, except for February 29, but that only happens once every four years, so we’ll discount that.
There are biological factors at play.
For example, more babies are born in late summer and fall than at any other time, and more are conceived in the later months of the year.
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In a paper published in journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 2001 it was noted that ‘deterioration of sperm quality during summer, seasonal differences in anterior pituitary-ovarian function caused by changes in the daylight length, and variation in quality of the ovum or endometrial receptivity’ play a role.
That paper went on to explain: “Increased sexual activity associated with end-of-year holiday festivities has also been postulated as a possible behavioral explanation for the December peak in conceptions.”
However, they were forced to conclude that ‘the exact reasons are unknown’.
Well, here’s some good reasoning as to why fewer births occur on December 25 – and it’s simply because it’s Christmas Day, rather than some scientific reason.
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You see, lots of babies are born through caesarean section, and – because most people are off work – there aren’t many operations of that kind scheduled for Christmas Day.
What’s more, loads of vaginal births require medical induction, and that isn’t often happening either on Christmas Day because everyone would rather be at home with their families.
It’s not just Christmas either.
Zagorsky continued: “All of the least-favored days in the U.S. are tied to holidays, whether it’s Christmas, New Year’s, Fourth of July, or Thanksgiving,
“Depending on the year and place, between 30 percent and 40 percent fewer babies are born on Dec. 25 than on the peak day of the year.”
“Almost no cesarean births are scheduled by doctors to happen on public holidays or weekends,
“About one in three American babies are born this way.”
There you have it.
So, if it’s your birthday today, you’re probably pretty annoyed that everyone isn’t as interested in you as they are in their own Christmas.
But, console yourself with the knowledge that you’re a statistical anomaly, a genuine outsider, and not like all of the rest.
Also, it’s Christmas, just have an eggnog and get on with it.
Topics: Christmas, Weird, Science, World News
Tom Wood