Baby Born In May Statistics

Even though spring starts in March, it's really blooming in May. And with the blooms of spring come May babies. Babies born in May tend to be sunny and more optimistic than other babies. Which makes sense, because the weather is beginning to warm up and we have more sunny days. May babies have a lot of things that make them special, and here are a few more reasons!

May Babies are "Lucky"

Richard Wiseman, a British psychologist from the University of Hertfordshire conducted an internet survey of around 40,000 people in the early 00s. Wiseman and his team then analyzed the surveys and broke the data down based around birthdays. A higher number of people (about half) born in May believed themselves to be lucky. Generally, those born in spring and summer believe themselves to be luckier than those in fall.

"The effect might be due to changes in how some parents interact with their babies during summer and winter," Wiseman said via The Sydney Morning Herald.

They're More Optimistic

In a slightly different survey, Richard Wiseman and colleague Jayanti Chotai of Umea University in Sweden worked together with volunteers from the Edinburgh International Science Festival. In the survey, volunteers were asked about a dozen questions about how their belief in luck and their personalities. Questions like "I tend to look on the bright side of whatever happens to me," were used as the basis for self perception. People born in summer tended to agree more with these kind of statements.

The doctors believe that the more optimistic outlook has to do with seasonal differences between summer and winter. Since summer has more daylight hours, they believe the daylight has effects on the higher amount of dopamine people are producing, which tends to make them happier.

A 2011 study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders backs this theory. It found a "significant association" between temperament and birth season.

They Tend to Have Less Allergies

Researchers from the University of Southampton found DNA markers that link birth season to the risk of allergies later in life. The 2016 study was published in the journal Allergy and found a specific DNA marker, Methylation that is associated with birth season. The marker is still present in the body 18 years later, which offers insight on how your birth season effects your body.

Because of these markers, the researchers were able to discover the link between birth season and allergies. Like, people born in fall and winter are more likely than those born in spring or summer to have eczema.

"Generally, people born in autumn and winter are at increased risk for allergic diseases such as asthma. However, until now, we did not know how the effects can be so long lasting," said Southampton Professor of Allergy and Respiratory Genetics, John Holloway.

Of course, these are just a few reasons of what makes May babies so special. But we know they're really special because they're ours.