Having already discussed about all the three trimesters of pregnancy, now it?s high time to discuss on birth spacing. So get ready to know all about birth spacing.
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What Is Birth Spacing?
It is self-explanatory- i.e., it is the time or number of years in between two consecutive deliveries.
Why Should You Know About Birth Spacing?
In this era where almost both the parents are working the couples often decide to have another child earlier so as to complete their family soon. On the other hand there are couples who postpone the next pregnancy for too long. In both the cases there are a number of problems medically, emotionally and also economically.
Why Not Too Early?
What I mean too early is getting pregnant within one year of the previous delivery. Generally a woman tends to lose her iron and calcium that has been stored in her body during her pregnancy, delivery and lactation period. If she gets pregnant within a year of the previous delivery then her calcium and iron reserves would not be enough to support her as well the baby and this may end up to an unsuccessful pregnancy.
Secondly she has already undergone a hormonal turmoil due to her pregnancy and delivery. So an early consecutive pregnancy will add stress to her, as she has to undergo another hormonal turmoil. Some women even suffer from postpartum stress.
If she is lactating her child then she may not be able to meet her child?s needs as there will be insufficient lactation. Thus she will be drained physically and emotionally.
Risks Involved
– A condition called Abruptio placenta where the placenta peels off from the uterus before the delivery (generally the placenta is delivered only after the delivery of the baby as you all know) leading to abortion.
– Placenta previa where the placenta is placed in the lower part of the uterus (generally in a normal pregnancy the placenta is placed in the fundus or the upper part of the uterus). This may also leady to spotting or bleeding during pregnancy and may sometimes lead to abortion.
– There may be preterm delivery.
– The baby may be of low birth weight.
– There are even studies relating autism of the second child to short birth space.
– If the woman has had a previous Caesarean section and if a vaginal delivery is tried there are possibilities for uterine rupture (most women in villages try this hoping to get a normal vaginal delivery due to ignorance).
Why Not Too Late?
What I mean too late is birth space more than 5 years. The associated risks are
– Preeclampsia- a condition where your blood pressure shoots after the 5th month of pregnancy.
– Dystocia where there will be prolonged and difficult labor.
– Preterm delivery
– Low birth weight
– An associated emotional stress on the first child. This is because the first child may miss his/her attention from the parents if not properly counseled. This may affect the bonding between the siblings in the future.
Ideal Birth Space
The ideal birth space is considered to be 3-5 years which is considered good for both a happy family and a healthy child. Plan it wisely so that you enjoy your family life and your child enjoys his childhood and gets his mother?s love and care completely.
Now having read about birth spacing you might have queries like how am I to plan my pregnancies and what are the methods. We do have solutions ladies- CONTRACEPTIVE METHODS!! So chill out! We will discuss with the types of contraceptive methods and their pros and cons in the subsequent weeks. Till then bye?
This is a guest post written by Dr Meena Prakash.
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