The seasonality of births in Canada

Abstract

SummaryEarlier studies on the seasonality of births indicate that a major peak occurs in August and September and a minor peak in January and February. This study uses the 1984 Canadian Fertility Survey data on reproductive history to examine birth and pregnancy seasonalities, and shows that the ‘worst’ months for births are January and February and the ‘best’ months are March, April and May. There is no systematic pattern in the seasonality of pregnancies, possibly because effective birth control allows couples to plan the timing of births.