How soon after giving birth can you try for another baby? What are the risks? What do I need to be aware of?
Baby Gap
Human life is the crown of creation. The story of creation Genesis continues everyday as humans have taken up the responsibility of co-creating. Each new life that finds its way through in this planet proclaims the news that the world is a beautiful place to live and it is good to be here on the planet. At the same time the world has become a place of competition and grabbing. It has become a market place where everyone is bent on grabbing what belongs to the other. The world is becoming increasingly crowded. Because of this ‘educated’ humans have decided to practice population control. In some countries people are encouraged to procreate and incentives are given for giving birth to many children. In any of the cases, it is believed that there should be a gap between two pregnancies. The gap should be long enough for the mother to recover and the child to receive sufficient love a nurturing; it should short enough that the mother is not over-aged and unfit for pregnancy and there is not too long a gap that would look like a generation gap between siblings.
Risks of Too Long and Too Short Gaps:
Too long or too short creates risks of problems for the second child and for the mother. If the gap is too short or long, risks of prematurely, low birth weight has been recorded. The shorter gap makes too much demand on the mother as she has not completely recovered from the demands on her physiology of gestation and lactation. If the gap grows too long, her readiness to bear a child decreases. There is a gradual decline in her capacity as she ages. I there is a pregnancy within six months of child birth, the child loses its chances of being breast fed-which is very important for the healthy growth of the child, especially for the proper building up of immunity. If the siblings are too close in age, there is the possibility of rivalry is more. Each child fights for parental attention and care which will lead to sibling rivalry even as they grow up. If the elder sibling is much older than the younger one, the problem emotional distancing occurs. The elder sibling may not find it easy to relate with the younger as a play mate. The younger may fear the elder one as a threat.
Keep in Mind:
The interval should be more than 18 months and less than 59 months. This healthy gap helps the mother to recover from the demanding physiological conditions of gestation and lactation. The child gets enough petting, breast milk, love and care that are needed for a sound physical and psychological growth of the child. A long gap might make the mammary glands less lactating thus leading to feeding the child with bottled milk. Making a purposeful pregnancy plan is of vital importance for the newly weds.
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