Are You Ready for Another Baby? The Real Scoop on Pregnancy Spacing

A lot of fuss is made over when it’s the right time to start thinking about baby number two (or three or four, in my case!) after giving birth. If they’re too close in age, will you be able to handle having two tiny ones in diapers? If they’re far apart in age, will they get along, and do you really want to go right back into diaper duty after you’ve successfully potty trained your older child? To children closer in age form stronger bonds and have more in common? There are so many “what ifs” involved with pregnancy spacing that it can seriously make you want to play ostrich and hide your head in the sand.  The good news? Hiding your head in the sand and ignoring all of these what ifs isn’t such a bad idea afterall!

The thing is that getting pregnant isn’t always easy to begin with—heaven knows, I’ve been there—and so, in my world, I think it’s a good idea to get pregnant when you can, and when feels right for you and your family. Like so many other aspects of parenting, there really isn’t a universal correct answer here, it’s something you need to think about and decide with your family and for yourself. That said, my own family is proof that any kind of spacing can work out wonderfully. My two boys are two and a half years apart, but my youngest boy and my eldest daughter are just barely a year apart in age! I waited a tiny bit longer to have my youngest baby girl, but whether my children are neck-and-neck in age or spaced a bit more generously, they’re growing into happy little loves, and I wouldn’t change a thing about the way my husband and I have grown our family.

That said, it’s important to note the latest data that came out this summer, saying that women who get pregnant within a year of delivery are two times as likely to give birth to their next child prematurely than women who waited at least 18 months to get pregnant again. That means they may be born before 37 weeks, and miss the last few weeks in the womb, when their brain, lungs, and liver are finishing developing. It’s also likely that children conceived sooner than 18 months after their older brother or sister was delivered will have low birth weight and be smaller in size, which also coincides with premature birth. Why is this? Experts think that when a woman gets pregnant again so quickly after having a baby, that there hasn’t been enough time for her to fully recover from her depleted stores of important nutrients like folic acid and iron—which can affect both mom’s health and baby’s.

Still, there are no guarantees in pregnancy, and if you’ve been trying and succeed, no time is the wrong time seriously, there are so many things that can get in the way of the sperm and egg meeting and doing their thing, it’s mind boggling! So if you get pregnant soon after giving birth, just make sure you’re under the care of an amazing doctor who understands the potential risks involved. And if you want to wait a bit to reduce the risk of premature birth, and give your body a chance to get back to 100 percent before going back into Preggotown, that’s great, too. At any rate, take care of yourself and listen to your body—you might not believe it now, but you’ll know when the time is right!