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This systematic review summarises association between short interpregnancy intervals and adverse perinatal health outcomes in high-resource settings to inform recommendations for healthy birth spacing for the United States. In high-resource settings, there is some evidence showing interpregnancy intervals <6 months since last livebirth are associated with increased risks for preterm birth, small-for-gestational age and infant death; however, results were inconsistent. Additional research controlling for confounding would further inform recommendations for healthy birth spacing for the United States.
References
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Conde‐Agudelo A, Rosas‐Bermudez A, Kafury‐Goeta AC. Birth spacing and risk of adverse perinatal outcomes: a meta‐analysis. J Am Med Assoc. 2006;295:1809‐1823.
World Health Organization. Report of a WHO Technical Consultation on Birth Spacing: Geneva, Switzerland, 13–15 June 2005. Department of Reproductive Health and Research (RHR). Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2006.