7 Fascinating Facts About October Babies

If you're hoping to add another athlete to the family, you're in luck. Those born in the autumn have a clear physical advantage, according to a 2014 study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine. And for babies born specifically in the month of October, their strength is, well, strength. The study found that October-born children, along with their September- and November-born counterparts, are often the strongest children among their peers. This advantage was noted in a school sports setting, where the age cut-off for certain grades lands in fall, meaning October babies are some of the oldest, and likely more physically developed, in their grade.

Being one of the older kids in the classroom (which October babies usually are) is not only a leg up in sports, but it’s also good for their self-esteem, particularly in the school environment. "We find that children who are older than their peers — and are thus more mature — have a significant self-concept advantage,” wrote the authors of a 2019 article in the Journal of Educational Psychology. “Furthermore, we find that this self-concept advantage contributes to university entry.” All around, when it comes to school, being one of the older kids has multiple advantages all stemming from further physical and mental development. You go, October babies.

Your October baby might be a natural-born leader. Apparently, there’s something about having a fall or winter birth month that bestows a flare for the presidential on its babies. If we ranked the months by how many presidents were born in each, the top three are October, November, and August. October is tied with November at six presidents each, but it was ranked number one up until 2021 with the inauguration of November-born President Joe Biden.

What's more, these October-born Presidents are some of the most influential Presidents in our nation's history. John Adams, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Jimmy Carter all had October birthdays.

One of the happiest October baby facts? They might be, well, happier. When it comes to predicting your baby's future mental health, there's a lot to factor into the equation. However, if you're looking for encouraging stats, people born in the fall and winter are associated with a lower frequency of recurrent depressive disorders, according to a 2018 study in Medical Science Monitor. And further, a 2014 study on birth seasons and bipolar disorder by Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry found the smallest percentage of test subjects to be fall-born.

When you found out your October due date, you probably didn't celebrate the fact that you'd be getting maximum Vitamin D exposure during your pregnancy — but that is actually something to rejoice over! Some research suggests a potential link between vitamin D exposure during pregnancy and the skeletal development of the child. According to a 2009 study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, higher UVB levels during the third trimester are positively related to increased bone mineral density and bone size. Since then, further research has expanded on the importance of vitamin D exposure during pregnancy, and though this correlation has yet to be definitively proven, it’s certainly not a bad thing that you were pregnant during the summer months.

No matter when your baby is born, you want them to live a long and healthy life. But research has shown that October babies might have a leg up in the longevity department. One study that looked at the effects of a person's birth month on the chances of survival to age 100 found that those born between September and November had higher odds of becoming centenarians compared to their sibling cohorts born in March, according to the Journal of Aging Research. The research suggests that temperature and sun exposure during pregnancy and early infancy could be related to these findings.

It's probably clear by now that October babies have a lot going for them (woot, woot!) but there's one more thing you can add to the list — October babies often have strong hearts. A 2015 Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association study found that, your birth month has an impact on your lifetime disease risk. The study found fall babies to be the least likely to develop cardiovascular diseases. A strong and healthy heart could also be a contributing factor to your October baby’s odds at making it to 100 years old and their impressive sports skills.