Pre-Pregnancy: SiblingsQ.Why is it recommended to wait a year after a caesarean before conceiving again?A.Many women do conceive within 12 months of birth (deliberately or otherwise) and, for most of them, all will be well. However, this does not detract from the fact that research has shown that babies conceived within six months of a previous birth have a 40 per cent greater chance of being premature or undersized at delivery. We are not sure why this is so, although it may be related to reduced body stores of iron and other nutrients. It is worth remembering that your joints and muscles need six to nine months to recover from the influence of pregnancy hormones; another pregnancy before this time may increase the risk of backache and other discomforts. Anaemia and increased tiredness are also more likely. Furthermore, there is no doubt that babies benefit from four to six months of exclusive breastfeeding (and continued breastfeeding throughout the first year of life) and, although it is possible to breastfeed throughout pregnancy, some women do not find this easy. Experts are still not sure what the ideal gap between births is, since there are so many factors to take into account - your own health, the health of your children, the amount of support and domestic help you have, your finances, plans for the future, and so on. For example, although having babies relatively close together is very hard work, many women feel that their children share a closer sibling relationship as a result. Others feel that having their children too close together reduces the amount of individual attention they can give to each child, especially as they get older. What is important to one woman may be less important to another. As a midwife, I can only cite the conclusions reached by researchers into the subject. It's then up to you to balance the pros and cons in your particular circumstances. |
