Mothers’ exposure to sun could affect baby’s height and bone growth
Children born in late summer or early autumn are generally taller and stronger than those born in spring and winter, a new study suggests. By age 10, kids born in the warmer months were, on average, half a centimetre taller and had nearly 13 cm sq of extra bone area than their peers, a real advantage: “Wider bones are thought to be stronger and less prone to breaking as a result of osteoporosis in later life,” John Tobias, who was involved in the study, told the BBC. The reason summer babies are stronger could be their mothers’ exposure to the sun, as moms entering the late stages of pregnancy in the summer get more vitamin D from being outside. The researchers suggest that women expecting babies between November and May talk to their doctor about vitamin D supplements.