It has been found that those using IVF treatment to conceive are more likely to succeed in springtime than at any other time of the year. Those who had treatment in March, April or May were one-and-a-half times more likely to succeed than those trying during other months.

Scientists think that the increase in light in spring may encourage women’s bodies to produce greater amounts of the hormone estradiol, essential for fertilising the egg and the development of the embryo.

These new findings come after scientists from the Assisted Fertilization Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil studied almost 2,000 women undergoing IVF treatment during all four seasons of the year. They found that rates of fertilisation and levels of estradiol in the women’s blood were much higher in spring.

The next step for the scientists is to test if women are more likely to conceive in areas of Brazil nearer the equator, where there is more light.