The study used data from 14,500 births.
Image: Shutterstock/ESB Professional Image: Shutterstock/ESB Professional CONCEIVING WITHIN A year of stillbirth is common and is not associated with increased risk of stillbirth, preterm birth, or small-for-gestational-age birth in the following pregnancy.
The World Health Organisation recommends that women wait at least two years after a livebirth and at least six months after a miscarriage or induced abortion before conceiving again, but there is no guidance for the optimal interval after a stillbirth because there is limited evidence in this area. The authors noted that these countries have access to universal health care and free antenatal care, and the populations are primarily white, so the findings might not be generalisable to low-or middle-income countries, countries without access to universal health care, or ethnic minority groups.
For women who had experienced stillbirth in their last pregnancy, intervals shorter than 12 months were not associated with increased risk of subsequent stillbirth, preterm birth, or small-for-gestational-age birth, compared with an interpregnancy interval of 24–59 months. Dr Regan explains: “Although the mechanism linking interpregnancy interval and perinatal health is unclear, previous research offers several hypotheses, including depleted nutrition from past pregnancy, cervical insufficiency, and breastfeeding–pregnancy overlap in closely spaced pregnancies.
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