Childbearing and Health
See also: Maternal health and Family planningEarly childbearing and other behaviours can have health risks for women and their infants. Waiting until a woman is at least 18 years old before trying to have children improves maternal and child health. If an additional child is to be conceived, it is considered healthier for the mother, as well as for the succeeding child, to wait at least 2 years after the previous birth before attempting to conception. After a fetal fatality, it is healthier to wait at least 6 months.
The WHO estimates that each year, 358 000 women die due to complications related to pregnancy and childbirth; 99% of these deaths occur within the most disadvantaged population groups living in the poorest countries of the world. Most of these deaths can be avoided with improving women's access to quality care from a skilled birth attendant before, during and after pregnancy and childbirth.
Read more about this topic: Reproductive Health
Famous quotes containing the word health:
“The middle years of parenthood are characterized by ambiguity. Our kids are no longer helpless, but neither are they independent. We are still active parents but we have more time now to concentrate on our personal needs. Our children’s world has expanded. It is not enclosed within a kind of magic dotted line drawn by us. Although we are still the most important adults in their lives, we are no longer the only significant adults.”
—Ruth Davidson Bell. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 3 (1978)