Title: Summertime Mystery: More Born, Fewer Die in August - ABC News
Headings: Summertime Mystery: More Born, Fewer Die in August
Summertime Mystery: More Born, Fewer Die in August
Read More Stories About Seasonality and Time:
Death Trends More Predictable
Not Universal
Too Hot?
Must Be a Full Moon
'Elder Fire Horse' Effect?
Baby Booms and Busts

Content: In most recent years, August and September are the top months for births in the United States, according to federal statistics. August had the most total births every year from 1990 to 2002 except for four -- 1992, 1993, 1997 and 1998 -- when it was edged out by July. September, a day shorter than July and August, averaged the most births per day over the period from 1990 to 2002. ( Click HERE for a table of month-by-month births.) Demographers and sociologists long have puzzled over the mysteries of America's birth seasons: Why do births peak in the fall almost every year, and then dip in January and again in April? Why do other parts of the world have their own repetitive patterns, in some cases practically the opposite of America's? And why do birth seasons occasionally change over time? "There is no consensus that I'm aware of as far as a factor, or the factors, that contribute to this," said Brady Hamilton, a statistician and demographer for the reproductive statistics branch of the National Center for Health Statistics. " It seems to be a myriad of different hypotheses."