Timing babies | WPN World People News

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Nicholas Garlow with HHS HealthBeat.

For all the joy of being a mom, giving birth takes a toll on the mother’s body, which may need time to recover before having another baby.

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Naomi Tepper is an OB/GYN physician:

``It’s very important for women to wait after they have a baby before getting pregnant again.’’ (11 seconds)

Tepper says women could have anemia, and the next baby could be smaller than he or she should be, or be born preterm. And women who had cesarean sections could have serious complications.

Tepper says women can talk with their health care providers about specific conditions, and how long they might need to wait.

An article on pregnancy planning is in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Nicholas Garlow.

Last revised: July 19, 2011

Source: U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services