the advantages and disadvantages of each season for being pregnant and giving birth

Having a child is a happy surprise for some couples, which they do not anticipate. Also they don’t choose the time of year when their child will be born, nor the one at which the different stages of pregnancy will take place. But some couples on the other hand choose voluntarily to conceive their child (in a natural way, or with medically assisted procreation), at a defined period of the year. Sometimes it’s to make the mother’s pregnancy “easier” to bear. Sometimes it’s to make household life easier to organize. Finally, it may be so that the baby is less prone to winter illnesses or allergies, or to the heat of the summer months, or to the cold of winter.

Either way, the journey and the destination are the same. 9 months (or a little less for some) of pregnancy, and a baby that you have to learn to take care of. Whether no period is “the most favorable“, or on the contrary “the worst“to be pregnant and having a baby, because pregnancy symptoms remain the same, each season has its pros and cons. Here they are, according to the moms.

Getting pregnant in the fall: what are the positives and negatives?

When you get pregnant between September and November, the babies are born between june and august.
“My feet don’t fit in any shoes with the heat wave, except flip flops“. Mathilde 7 months pregnant at the end of June 2023

Advantages :

• The first months of pregnancy can be better lived because the period is not conducive to convivial outingspregnancy can be kept “secret” for up to 12 weeks.
• Maternity leave falls when the weather is almost always pleasant
• The 2nd parent can more easily take a vacation after paternity leave and stay longer with the mom
• The child is 3 years old exactly when he starts school

The inconvenients :

• The beginning of pregnancy falls at a time when morale is generally at half mast, with the drop in light, a complicated combo.
• If the baby is born in mid or late summer, the end of pregnancy with heat waves are difficult to bear. Exposure to the sun must be closely monitored.
• THE summer months with an infant can be tricky: combining new rhythm with holidays and heat is difficult.
• If you already have a child, managing it during the long holidays in addition to an infant, or the end of pregnancy is difficult.

Getting pregnant in winter: what advantages, what disadvantages?

When you get pregnant between December and February, the babies are born between September and November.
“I had to keep my girls home for a full year before I could go back to work.“Amelia, mom in October 2022.

Advantages :

• The first trimester and beginning of pregnancy can be camouflaged under winter clothes if one does not wish to say so “fast”.
• When the thermometer begins to climb, the pregnant woman is not at the end of her pregnancy and can physically enjoy sunny days.
• You will be able enjoy the holiday season (champagne and foie-gras), and will have already found your cruising speed with baby who (with luck) may already be sleeping.
• Your child will be 3 years old before December 31 and this therefore represents up to a year of saved childcare.

The inconvenients :

• Summer maternity clothes will be too light, you won’t have winter ones to recycle, you risk being embarrassed.
• Maternity leave in autumn, when the weather is often rainy, is not the most pleasant, if we exclude the 2 weeks of Indian summer in September.
• Places in crèches and nannies are often difficult to find outside the start of the school year.
• Your child will be “toddler” when he starts school: between cleanliness, language and sociability, you risk stressing.

Getting pregnant in the spring: the pros and cons

When you get pregnant in March, April and May, you gives birth between December and February.
“I spent Christmas in bed, and December 31 in the maternity ward, with a very sad 4-year-old.” Stephanie, who gave birth on December 31, 2022.

Advantages :

• Some discomforts of pregnancy, such as hot flashes, will be non-existent
• Your end of pregnancy will happen in the rainiest and coldest months. The Netflix couch will be a totally tolerable option, hibernation is yours.
• In winter, the maternities are generally less overloadedand the staff more willing to pamper you.
• Your baby will already be several months old when the fine weather arrives, and you can peacefully enjoy the terraces with him.

The inconvenients

• Your maternity leave and the baby’s first months will be winter months, where it is more difficult to socialize, and where outings are always shortened. Watch out for loneliness.
• THE winter maternity clothes are expensive, and shoes for swollen feet do not exist. Getting dressed will sometimes be a challenge.
• The end-of-year celebrations will not be conducive to letting go, you will be either at the end of pregnancy or parents of an infant.
• You will probably need to spend time preparing before each outing with baby to face the cold, and invest in a equipment that will only last a few months.

Getting pregnant in summer: the pros and cons

When you get pregnant in June, July and August, you gives birth in March, April and May.
“I had 6 weddings that summer. I was bad, irritable, bloated, tired, and couldn’t say anything because it was too soon. And it shows in the photos.“Myself, mom in March 2019.

Advantages :

• You will pass between the drops of the inconveniences of the end of pregnancy in summer or winter (hot flashes, difficulties in getting dressed, etc.)
• THE maternity leave at the end of winter and spring is very pleasant (if we exclude the showers of March), the sun returns, without being boring.
• A baby born in the spring will be less subject to the cold, and therefore to cold snaps, to winter viruses, and easier to dress.
• You will be able to fully enjoy the summer with a slightly bigger and awake baby, and you will be less tired than at the beginning.

The inconvenients :

• The beginning of pregnancy falls into the boom of terraces, aperitifs, and other barbecues and weddings. It is difficult to refuse a rosé each time without revealing anything.
• There period “Magic” of the 2nd trimesteryou will pass it in the middle of winter, and will not be able to enjoy it.
• The months of April and May are the months with the most births, along with September. Maternities are often very busy.
• Finding childcare is mission impossible for the beginning of summer, so it is essential to take parental leave and pay for all your holidays.

Head of the Aufeminin.com news division

Loïse is addicted to current events, to TV series which she consumes as soon as she has time, to comics, to running which she practices whether it rains or snows, and…