Christmas Eve is the Most Popular Day of Conception

Data released by the Office for National Statistics has confirmed that more babies are conceived at Christmas in England and Wales than at any other t

22:06 23 December 2015

Two decades of data gathered by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has confirmed a surge in births around 40 weeks after Christmas. The data also confirmed that Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day all had the lowest numbers of births.

 

The ONS said: "A peak in births in late September shows that more babies are conceived in the weeks leading up to and days after Christmas than at any other time of the year."

 

Typically, around 1,800 babies are born everyday. However, there’s an autumn baby boom with 1,947 births around the 26th of September.

 

This is due to couples spending more time together and parents trying to give their children an advantage by making sure they are born at the beginning of a school year.

Allan Pacey, a professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield, told the BBC: "The idea that more babies are conceived over the Christmas period makes a lot of sense.

 

"I'm sure the odd celebratory sherry has something to do with it too."