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According to a new study, mothers should wait at least a year between delivery and the new pregnancy to reduce the risk to the health of the mother and baby.
But the researchers say that they do not have to wait as long as the 18 months recommended in the current World Health Organization guidelines.
Small differences between pregnancies may lead to premature births, smaller babies, and infant and maternal mortality.
The researchers hope the results will be "rebaduring" for older women.
Dr. Wendy Norman, lead author of the study, said it was "encouraging news" for women over 35 who were planning their families.
"For the first time, older mothers have excellent evidence to guide the spacing of their children," she said.
"Achieving this optimal interval of one year should be feasible for many women and is clearly worth reducing the risk of complications."
The study, conducted by the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, covering nearly 150,000 births in Canada, is published in JAMA Internal Medicine .
The study found that 12 to 18 months was the ideal time between childbirth and a new pregnancy.
Current guidelines from the World Health Organization recommend an ideal interval of 24 months and at least 18 months.
The researchers also discovered:
- Being pregnant less than 12 months after giving birth was badociated with risks for women of all ages
- Only women over the age of 35 were at the mother's risk, while the risks for the infant were the same for all women, but were higher for women aged 20 to 34.
- Women over 35 who gave birth six months after a previous birth were at risk of 1.2% maternal mortality or harm (12 per 1,000 pregnancies).
- Waiting 18 months between pregnancies reduced the risk to 0.5% (five cases per 1,000)
- Younger women who became pregnant six months after a previous birth had a risk of preterm birth of 8.5%
- This figure dropped to 3.7% if they waited 18 months between two pregnancies
Lead author Laura Schummers said, "Our study found that maternal and child risks increased when pregnancies were widely spaced, including for women over 35 years of age.
"The results for older women are particularly important because older women tend to space their pregnancies more closely and often do so intentionally."
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The study looked at a single population of women – in Canada – so it is difficult to know if this would be applicable worldwide.
Researcher Sonia Hernandez-Diaz, researcher, said the findings suggest different risks for each age group.
"Short spacing between pregnancies may reflect unplanned pregnancies, especially among young women.
"That high risks are due to the fact that our body does not have time to recover if we conceive soon after childbirth or to factors badociated with unplanned pregnancies, such as inadequate antenatal care, the recommendation could be the same: improve access to postpartum contraception or abstain from unprotected bad with a male partner after birth. "
Mandy Forrester, Royal College of Midwives, said the study was "a useful research and builds on previous research on birth spacing".
"At the end of the day, it will be the woman's choice, no matter how old she is, how much time she has left before pregnancy, and what is important is that she is current birth spacing evidence and make its choice with appropriate information.
"Health professionals will always support a woman in her choice, which will be done for what is right for her and for her pregnancy.
According to her, women should have access to contraceptive counseling to be able to space their births, if that was their choice, but said that specialized family planning services in the UK were "fragmented, GPs do not have". Often offering only oral contraceptives ".
"Specialized services should be available for all women."
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