The most popular birth date in Malaysia over the past three decades was Sept 9 – a total of 47,199 babies were born on this day.
PETALING JAYA: More time to rest during the holidays, more couples getting hitched in December, and family influence during the year-end festive season – these are some reasons why more babies are born in certain months than others in Malaysia.
Particularly in October and September.
Going back nine months, this means that couples in Malaysia are more likely to conceive a child in December and January.
October had the highest number of babies born over the past 30 years – a total of 1.391 million babies have been delivered in this month since 1993.
This was followed by September with 1.364 million, and August with 1.351 million babies.
The month with the fewest number of births was February, with 1.16 million, based on data from the National Registration Department.
The most popular birth date in Malaysia over the past three decades was Sept 9 – a total of 47,199 babies were born on this day.
Coming in second place was Oct 10, where 47,194 people were born since 1993, followed by Nov 11 with 46,959, according to the data.
Every year, the month with the most number of births changes, but October has taken the top spot for six years in a row from 2017 to 2022.
Watch how the trend has progressed since 1993, with the month with the highest number of newborns ranked from one to 12.
Beyond the birthdays
One possible reason why many babies are born in October is the high number of marriages happening at the end of the year.
Demographer Chai Sen Tyng said the differences in birth seasonality across months was small, but it was influenced by cultural and socioeconomic factors.
“For Malaysia, the lowest birth months are consistently in February while the peak birth months are September or October.
“A major social determinant is the time of marriage.
“Data from the Statistics Department showed that the most popular month for marriages is December,” said Chai, who is a research officer at the Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
As such, he said the higher likelihood for conception was linked to the timing of marriages.
“Not all births are planned, but there could be cultural reasons that may explain some patterns of conception or birth,” Chai added.
Another factor could be that December was often a month where couples and families go on holiday, taking time off work to spend more time together.
“This could increase the frequency of sex, leading to pregnancy, and the timing could also spill over to January,” said gynaecologist and fertility specialist Dr Agilan Arjunan.
Even for couples seeking fertility treatment, they would have more time to see the doctor towards the end of the year when they are clearing leave from work, said Dr Agilan, who is from the Evelyn Fertility and Women Specialist Centre in Kota Damansara, Selangor.
“Financially speaking, many couples also get their year-end bonus and have more means to seek fertility treatment,” he added.
KL Fertility Centre director Dr Helena Lim Yun Hsuen said seasonal birth has been observed all over the world, with people in some countries conceiving in winter when more time is spent indoors.
“In Malaysia, it is the year-end holidays when people wind down.
“For the Chinese community, some try to get pregnant before Chinese New Year, when more family reunions will be held.
"These festivities tie in with family values and they remind couples of the importance of family,” said Dr Lim, who is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist and fertility specialist.
On fertility treatments like in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), she said the demand for such intervention was higher after each festive season.
“IVF is also more popular now as more people are marrying later in life.
“Secondly, environmental factors have caused our sperm and egg quality to get worse, making natural conception more difficult,” she said.
Across the region, it also appears that our neighbours in South-East Asia have shown similar trends.
Similar to Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines welcomed the highest number of births in October.
Delivering the solutions
While there are some months with more births than others, it is unlikely to cause any significant effects.
“The impact is most likely small and limited, as the distribution is quite even and marginal differences would not strain resources on a month-to-month basis,” said UPM’s Chai.
This was unlike Year of Dragon births and spikes for the Chinese, that have a major implication on formal education enrolments and other standard milestone activities by chronological age.
However, a bigger challenge for Malaysia is our declining birth rate.
The number of births registered over the past 30 years has shown that Malaysians are having fewer children.
Chai said while this topic has been discussed at length, perhaps other than just asking why couples or singles do not want to have kids, there was a need to understand the motivation behind a couple’s decision to have children.
“Cash incentives, tax breaks or rebates and subsidies for childcare and education, including parental and family leave, are among important measures we should have to help those who want children,” he said.
To help boost the birth rate, Dr Agilan said it was important to educate youths about the current status of fertility rates around the world.
“When they become adults, at least they would have a better understanding of the situation to make more well-informed decisions,” he said.
More financial aid should also be given by the government to couples who wish to go for fertility treatment, suggested Dr Agilan.
“If we want to see a boost in fertility in the next five to 10 years, the government should act now.
“Sometimes, I also notice that many patients go to unauthorised clinics for fertility treatments – a trend that has been going on for the past five years.
“With social media, it is also easier for people to sell unlicensed fertility products.
“I hope the government will monitor this closely,” he said.
Dr Lim advised couples to have a deeper understanding of their fertility.
“If you are aged below 35 and still trying to conceive after a year, I urge you to see a fertility doctor.
“For women aged 35 and above and still trying after six months, do see a doctor as well,” she said.
While Malaysia has good healthcare and education, Dr Lim said the government should expand on this to help couples who wish to start a family.
“The government should address the rising cost of living, childcare fees and perhaps provide free education until the tertiary level,” she said.
With the falling birth rate, obstetrics and gynaecologist consultant Dr Milton Lum said this meant Malaysia will become an ageing nation, with a projection of over 15% of the population being aged 60 and above by 2030.
“There is a need for the government to provide assistive technology for senior citizens, or provide more automation to get certain tasks done,” he said.
Dr Lum said Malaysia was not alone, as governments around the world have tried to increase the birth rate in their countries.
As such efforts are ongoing, here’s a look at the number of births according to each date, based on figures from data.gov.my
When is your birthday and how popular has it been over the past 30 years? See the graphic below to find out.
