How common is timing conception with the aim of giving birth in a specific month of the year?

[GossipFinch]

I read an article a while back where Davina McCall was talking about timing the conception of all of her DCs so she would give birth in the autumn after Big Brother was finished. She has 3 DCs and believe she had them all in September or October. I recall she said she couldn't bear the thought of having to go on maternity leave and having to give up the job of hosting BB when it was one of the most popular shows on TV in the early to mid-2000s.

The thought occurred to me - do 'normal' women ever try to time conception in a similar manner? I've heard that anecdotally, some women don't want August babies because they will be noticeably smaller than other children in their class who were born earlier. I personally didn't think about what month was best to conceive DCs in - I was just happy to conceive at all. Any thoughts MN?

I did with all 3 of mine. I didn’t want them to start school when they had only just turned 4.

Ideally would have timed for Feb or march. Got December and July! I wouldn’t have chosen those months but the July one in particular was a bit of a pain (month wise; the child is delightful!)

Absolutely! We waited until Jan to conceive to avoid an August baby, and would have not tried in March as don't want a baby right on Christmas

I timed one for September and one for November as they’d be older when starting school.

I deliberately avoided Christmas myself because that didn't appeal to me at all.

A lot of people try to avoid July/August because they will be youngest in the school year.

I tried to avoid December/January because it’s not a great time of year for a birthday but ended up with a January baby.

I conceived quickly both times though… I’m assuming that where it’s taking a long time most people wouldn’t delay further.

I timed one of mine for March but she arrived 3 months early in December. Babies eh, always on their own schedule!

It’s common for people to try and time it so their children are amongst the oldest in the school year.

Tried it, failed epically!
DC born at 36 weeks so instead of an early September baby I got a mid August one 🤣

Yes, absolutely. I didn't want a Christmas or January baby. Ended up getting pregnant for a November baby, but would have skipped trying the next couple of months if I hadn't.

I did. I wanted a September baby. Babies always late in my family. DC due 8th September. Born 19th August.

My sisters birthday is 2 days after Christmas and she never enjoyed it so she timed it so she had a summer baby

I know people who have tried to time it for various reasons.
Mostly around school years and avoiding Christmas/January but others for ‘ideal’ age gaps, maximising mat leave if they’re a teacher for example. One friend hated having a cluster of family with the same birh month so tried to spread it out for her 3 kids.

Obviously it doesn’t always work but it makes sense.

Very common, if you want to save yourself 12 months or nursery fees I suggest you aim for August.

We tried so long it wasn't an option ti time months. We have children born in Jan/June/July.

Should have done, but was struggling to get pregnant so kept trying. Waters broke on Christmas morning 😱

Yes, I know quite a few school staff who had September babies. Timed for child's age and also for maternity leave planning (if you return the last days of term in July you will get paid your normal full time wage for summer)

I have an August birthday. We started trying in January both times because I didn’t want July or August babies. Didn’t fall pregnant until May with ds1 who was born the following February. Second time I fell straight away and baby was due October, but I miscarried. Was lucky enough to fall again straight away and ds2 was born the following March.

So both times it’s shown you can’t plan things exactly.

Having an August baby doesn’t guarantee a problem anyway- my friend’s ds1 is August and he is on track for “exceeding expectations” in his SATS. Another school friend is a doctor, she achieved well academically. I felt the disadvantage though, but I started school a year late (missed reception).

I didn't time my children and had infertility anyway. But afterwards realised that this was definitely a thing people did (for various reasons).

August js the most popular month for birthdays. So I’m not sure it’s as common as all that.

And actually, in hindsight I would have preferred to have my kids birthdays spread out a bit over the year because they are 3 weeks apart, so it’s a bit mad!

Ha! A teacher friend didn't want any August born DC. All 4 of hers are late August because they were all born early. Her twins being 9 weeks early and born on 30th August!

I would have loved spring babies. But it just never happened that way. Even my February due baby ended up being 12 weeks premature and born in November.

I tried to time my second to be a September baby. I ended up with a baby due in April 😂by that time though I was just grateful to be pregnant!

Isn’t it September in the UK? I’m sure I read that and my midwife told me it was.

We definitely planned our children to be born in Autumn/Winter as we didn’t want them being young in the school year.