Kins Morris Tue 04-Oct-22 15:10:47

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A Health expert, Dr. Chinonso Egemba, has warned Nigerian mothers against the poor spacing of pregnancies, noting that it could result in negative health effects for them and their babies.

Dr. Egemba, popularly known as ‘Aproko Doctor’ on social media, noted that not spacing pregnancies appropriately could put both the mother and baby at increased risks of health issues like low birth weight, reduced blood level for the mother, and schizophrenia or other congenital abnormalities for the baby.

Dr. Egemba stated this in a new post on his Instagram page @aproko_doctor.

According to the expert, mothers are expected to wait at least 24 months after delivery before getting pregnant again, stressing that this is based on recommendations from the World Health Organisation.

The expert noted that doing this gives the mother’s body enough time to heal and prepare for another pregnancy.

Egbemba said, “Some of you have turned giving birth to competition, every six months you have dropped. I hope you understand that giving birth too soon without any space in between can cause problems for you.

“When you give birth too soon without having any space in between, your body will not have time to heal. Giving birth too soon causes low birth weight, prematurity, maternal anaemia – meaning your blood level will reduce, and schizophrenia or congenital abnormalities.

“It is even increasing the rate of mother and child death, so please don’t rush and take your time,” the expert stressed.

In addition, “The World Health Organisation has said that between one pregnancy and the next time you try to get pregnant again should be at least 24 months.

“I know you want to give birth and just move on with your life but please the more you do that, the more you are putting your life and the life of your children at risk,” he warned.

According to a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, infants born to women who got pregnant less than six months after giving birth had a 40 per cent higher risk of being born prematurely and a 61 per cent increased risk of low birth weight, in comparison to infants born to mothers who waited 18 months to two years between pregnancies.

Also, a Report of WHO Technical Consultation on Birth Spacing advised that after live birth, the recommended interval before attempting the next pregnancy is at least 24 months in order to reduce the risk of adverse maternal, perinatal, and infant outcomes.

“The basis for the recommendation is that waiting 24 months before trying to become pregnant after a live birth will help avoid the range of birth-to-pregnancy intervals associated with the highest risk of poor maternal, perinatal, neonatal, and infant health outcomes.

“In addition, this recommended interval was considered consistent with the WHO/ United Nations Children’s Fund recommendation of breastfeeding for at least two years and was also considered easy to use in programmes. ‘Two years’ may be clearer than “18 months” or “27 months,” the report stated.

Source: https://healthwise.punchng.com/poor-pregnancy-spacing-could-cause-low-birth-weight-premature-delivery-physician-says/