This is why January 2 is the most popular day for couples to conceive

Who knew?

The second of January has been dubbed National Baby Making Day - when thousands of parents (or parents-to-be) will have sex in the hope of conceiving. Sixty per cent of couples will be having sex tonight to try for a September baby, according to new research. Official figures show that September 26 is the most common birthday in the UK - which is 38 weeks after January 2, the average length of a pregnancy. ChannelMum.com surveyed more than 2,000 couples - and the majority agreed that the day after New Year's Day is the top day to try and conceive, since "the drinking and partying is over" and they are looking to spend time together. And it turns out that 10,36pm is the most common time for couples to have sex, according to 71% of those surveyed. Almost a quarter of parents in the survey said that they wanted a baby conceived over Christmas, with 17% having fallen pregnant over previous Christmases and 8% planning to do so next year. Siobhan Freegard, founder of Channel Mum, said:

“Falling pregnant isn’t always easy so couples who have been trying a while will attempt almost anything to help. ''While there isn’t much medical science to back up these tips, our members swear they have all helped and we have hundreds of bouncing new babies to prove it. ''As long as you have fun trying, it’s always worth giving it a go.”

And it turns out the most common birthdate it's not so different for Ireland. Statistics from the CSO showed that September 26 is actually the sixth most popular date of the year to be born. An average of 187 babies are born on this date in Ireland every year. Meanwhile, September 27 is the fourth most popular birth date of the year, with 187 babies born on average. September 29 and September 23 come in third and second on the list of the most popular days, with an average of 188 births . The most common birthday in Ireland is October 1, with an average of 191 babies born on that day every year.