When is the right time to have a second child?

One question for many women who already have a child is knowing the right time to get pregnant again. But is there really a right time? Studies guarantee that yes and that having a second baby in a very short or very long period of time can increase health risks.

When to have the second child?

The ideal time? for women to space births would be at least 24 months apart. And at most 60 months. This is because, according to studies, this interval between the birth of one and the conception of another can affect not only physically the woman, but also her psychological condition. The result was obtained from data analysis of 1,723,084 women who had births from 2011.

What happened to anxious moms?

About 30% of respondents did not wait long enough, becoming pregnant again less than 18 months after the first delivery.


The study found that short intervals may affect the risk of pregnancy complications for the baby, such as preterm birth and low birth weight. There is also an impact on mothers, who may have a higher risk of mortality and hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, including bleeding and anemia. Doctors explain that women become anemic after the birth of a baby as they produce red blood cells so that their children can have folate. And in many cases, they don't have much time to recover before getting pregnant again.

In addition, one in five women suffer from postpartum depression, so if they get pregnant next, it is very possible that they have the same problem as they have not had time to treat themselves properly.

Read also: The best age to get pregnant


And the ones who decided to wait?

Conversely, women who wait up to five years to have another child may also face greater health risks such as high blood pressure, kidney disorders and diabetes, and, if they have changed partners, risks associated with preeclampsia.

But overall, doctors point out that there is no definitive time frame that works best for all women. Most importantly, each one is physically and emotionally ready.

And while there is still no verdict as to whether or not an ideal interval exists, the World Health Organization suggests a period of at least 24 months between the first and second pregnancies.

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