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Optimal Birth Spacing
May Reduce Infant Mortality by Up to 24% and
Under-Five Mortality by Up to 35 % in Less Developed Countries
World Experts Present Research on
Optimal Birth Spacing of 3 Years or Longer
SANTIAGO, Chile, Nov. 5, 2003--
Today, world experts and the CATALYST Consortium advise women
that waiting 3 years or longer between the births of their
children could potentially reduce infant mortality by up to 24
percent and under-five mortality by up to 35 percent in less
developed countries.(1) Similar benefits for infants were
found in a study conducted in the states of Michigan and Utah.
Findings on the association between longer birth spacing
intervals and decreased risk for maternal and child mortality
and morbidity were presented at the FIGO World Congress of
Gynecology and Obstetrics.
"Women have the right to know about the potential health
benefits of birth spacing," says Jeff Spieler, PhD, Chief,
Division of Research, Technology and Utilization, USAID
Birth Spacing Research from Developing Countries Worldwide
Dr. Shea Rutstein, an expert in demography from ORC Macro,
analyzed Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 15
developing countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Dr.
Rutstein found that children born after a three year birth
interval are more likely to be healthy and survive all
developmental stages through age five years. The risks for
stunting and underweight dramatically decrease when births are
spaced at least three years and continue to decrease the
longer births are spaced.(2) TOP
Birth Spacing Research from Latin America
Dr. Agustin Conde-Agudelo and Dr. Jose Belizan, experts in
maternal and perinatal health, analyzed data from the Latin
American Center for Perinatology and Human Development (CLAP)
from 19 countries in Latin America. They found that in Latin
America women with both short and long interpregnancy
intervals are at increased risk for selected adverse pregnancy
outcomes.(3) In a separate analysis Dr. Conde-Agudelo found
that adolescents are at increased risk of adverse health
outcomes including maternal mortality, as compared to adult
women.(4) TOP
Birth Spacing Research from the United States
Dr. Bao-Ping Zhu, an expert in epidemiology and reproductive
health, analyzed data from the states of Michigan and Utah to
determine the effects of the interpregnancy interval on
perinatal health. The findings of Dr. Zhu and his colleagues
mirror the findings from developing countries by Dr. Conde-
Agudelo.(5) This confirms the health benefits of birth
spacing, and indicates that the impact of birth spacing is
strong even in more developed settings where women may have
better nutritional status and access to health services. TOP
THE CATALYST CONSORTIUM
The CATALYST Consortium is a global reproductive health
activity initiated in September 2000 by the Center for
Population, Health, and Nutrition, Bureau for Global Programs
of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The
Consortium is a partnership of five organizations:
* Agency for Educational Development (AED)
* Center for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA)
* Meridian Group International, Inc.
* Pathfinder International
* PROFAMILIA/Colombia.
CATALYST has developed a three-pronged strategic approach in
order to encourage the adoption of optimal birth spacing: (1)
create international consensus on optimal birth spacing
recommendations; (2) strengthen services and community
programs with optimal birth spacing messages and (3) empower
individuals and communities to adopt and support optimal birth
spacing behaviors.
(1) Rutstein, S. 2003. Effect of Birth Intervals on Mortality
and Health:
Multivariate Cross Country Analyses. Presentation to the USAID-
sponsored Conference on Optimal Birth Spacing for Central
America,
held in Antigua, Guatemala June 2003.
(2) Ibid.
(3) Conde-Agudelo, A. and J. Belizan 2000. Maternal Mortality
and
Morbidity Associated with Interpregnancy Interval: A Cross
Sectional
Study. British Medical Journal, 321, 1255-1259.
(4) Conde-Agudelo, A. 2002. Maternal and Perinatal Morbidity
and
Mortality Associated with Adolescent Pregnancy in Latin
America.
Presented to the CATALYST Consortium OBSI Champions Meeting
held in
Washington, DC in May 2002.
(5) Zhu, B.P. et al. 1999. Effect of the Interval Between
Pregnancies on
Perinatal Outcomes. The New England Journal of Medicine, 340,
589-94;
and Zhu, B.P. et al. 2001. Effect of Interval Between
Pregnancies on
Perinatal Outcomes Among White and Black Women. American
Journal of
Obstetrics and Gynecology 185, 1403-10.
Source: CATALYST Consortium |
