“If a woman has a pregnancy that is too close to one another, there are health risks that can occur to the mother and baby. This can happen because the mother's body is not yet ready for the next pregnancy."
Although having children is a happy gift, pregnancy is still a challenging stage in the process of becoming a mother. During nine months, the mother's body will experience many changes. Therefore, mothers need time to fully recover after giving birth.
If you get pregnant again before your body is completely ready for the next pregnancy, pregnancies that are too close to each other can pose a number of risks and dangers to the health of the mother and baby. Check out the following, some of the dangers that can arise due to pregnancy that is too close!
What are the dangers of getting pregnant too close?
According to health experts, the ideal time to conceive is 18-24 months after giving birth. If the distance between two pregnancies is too close, there may be an increased risk for certain health conditions in the mother and baby, including:
1. Anemia in pregnant women
Anemia is a condition in which the body lacks healthy red blood cells. Even in a normal pregnancy, there can be a natural decrease in the number of red blood cells in a woman's body. What's more, mothers generally lose a lot of blood during childbirth.
So, if the distance between two children is too close, the mother's body has not fully recovered and has not had enough time to restore stocks of healthy red blood cells. As a result, the risk of anemia in pregnant women increases significantly.
Anemia during pregnancy can cause fatigue, weakness, dizziness and even more serious health problems if left untreated.
2. Malnutrition in the mother
Not only blood, pregnancy will also cause changes in the nutrients the body needs. Substances such as folic acid and iron in the body will decrease.
Therefore, re-conceiving when you have just given birth can increase the risk of a mother experiencing malnutrition for her next child. This is because the mother's body has not had enough time to recover and store the nutrients she needs.
Malnutrition in pregnant women can cause serious health problems. For mothers, a lack of nutrition can affect bone health and the immune system. For babies, the risk of complications at birth will increase.
3. Premature child birth
Premature birth means the baby must be born before the 37th week of pregnancy. Until now, the reason why too closely spaced pregnancies could increase the likelihood of preterm birth, but the strongest hypothesis is insufficient nutrition.
As you already know, nutrients such as vitamins and minerals will help the baby's growth while in the womb. If the mother does not have enough time to collect nutrients according to the levels needed, the risk of premature birth will increase.
Children born prematurely have a higher tendency to experience health problems. An example is low birth weight. In addition, after birth they also have to be in the hospital for supervision and care longer than babies born normally.
4. Complications during pregnancy
Pregnancy that is too close to the time will make the process of conceiving much more risky for the mother. If a mother's body isn't ready for the stress and hormonal changes that occur during subsequent pregnancies, she will be at risk of miscarriage, placenta previa (placenta sticking to the bottom of the uterus), and preeclampsia during birth.
In addition, if the mother experienced certain health problems in previous pregnancies, the chances of this happening again will be higher.
Those are the various dangers that can occur if the mother experiences a pregnancy that is too close. In order to avoid these risks, you can also find out Tips for Having a Comfortable Pregnancy.