Birth Interval

How it works

Benefits

Risks & contraindications

Highlighted claims

• Birth intervals of 24–35 months are associated with the lowest perinatal mortality risk, consistent with evidence that moderate spacing is optimal in low- and middle-income settings. — Birth intervals and the risk of perinatal mortality in Indonesia: findings from a cross-sectional study
• Birth intervals shorter than 12 months carry the highest perinatal mortality risk, with an adjusted odds ratio of 4.07. — Birth intervals and the risk of perinatal mortality in Indonesia: findings from a cross-sectional study
• Long birth intervals of 60 months or more are associated with nearly threefold higher perinatal mortality risk, with an AOR of 2.94. — Birth intervals and the risk of perinatal mortality in Indonesia: findings from a cross-sectional study
• First births carry a 3.55-fold increase in perinatal mortality risk and are analytically distinct from interval-based groupings. — Birth intervals and the risk of perinatal mortality in Indonesia: findings from a cross-sectional study
• The primary biological mechanism linking short birth intervals to perinatal mortality is maternal depletion syndrome, whereby rapid successive pregnancies exhaust nutritional reserves and recovery capacity. — Birth intervals and the risk of perinatal mortality in Indonesia: findings from a cross-sectional study
• Short birth intervals are also associated with increased likelihood of infection transmission from mother to fetus or newborn. — Birth intervals and the risk of perinatal mortality in Indonesia: findings from a cross-sectional study
• The proposed mechanism for elevated risk with long intervals is physiological regression, whereby the maternal reproductive system may lose adaptive capacity after extended periods without pregnancy, increasing susceptibility to pre-eclampsia. — Birth intervals and the risk of perinatal mortality in Indonesia: findings from a cross-sectional study