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Mothers should wait at least a year between giving birth and getting pregnant again to reduce health risks to mother and baby, a new study says. Senior author Dr Wendy Norman, UBC associate professor, said: "Achieving that optimal one-year interval should be doable for many women, and is clearly worthwhile to reduce complication risks." Although public health agencies, including the World Health Organization, generally recommend at least 18 months to two years between pregnancies, the study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine suggests one year after birth could be enough time before safely conceiving again for women who are anxious to have another child as soon as possible. The researchers also found:

Getting pregnant less than 12 months after giving birth was associated with risks for women for all ages

There were risks to the mother only for women over the age of 35, while risks to the infant were found for all women, but were greatest for those aged between 20 and 34

Women over 35 who conceived six months after a previous birth had a 1.2% risk of maternal mortality or harm (12 cases per 1,000 pregnancies)

Waiting 18 months between pregnancies reduced the risk to 0.5% (five cases per 1,000)

Younger women who got pregnant six months after a previous birth had an 8.5% risk (85 cases per 1,000) of premature labour

This dropped to 3.7% (37 per 1,000) if they waited 18 months between pregnancies

The study's lead author, Laura Schummers, said: "Our study found increased risks to both mother and infant when pregnancies are closely spaced, including for women older than 35. ‘The findings for older women are particularly important, as older women tend to more closely space their pregnancies and often do so intentionally.’

The researchers found the risks were different according to a woman’s age.
Research published in JAMA Internal Medicine describes that mothers should wait at least a year between giving birth and getting pregnant again to reduce health risks to mother and baby.