Abstract
Background
The interpregnancy interval (IPI) has been reported to influence the outcome of pregnancy
and birth. We performed a national study in Israel to determine the impact of IPI
on multiple adverse perinatal outcomes.
Study Design
This longitudinal cohort study used birth certificates of siblings born to the same
biological mother, with at least one previous birth and a subsequent singleton pregnancy.
Adverse pregnancy outcomes included preterm delivery, very preterm birth, small for
gestational age (SGA), very SGA (VSGA), early neonatal death and major congenital
malformations. Multivariate logistic regression was performed for each outcome.
Results
The study included 440,838 of a total of 846,845 reported live births in Israel over
5 years; excluded were primiparas (32%), multifetal births (4.9%) and those with incomplete
data (10.9%). For IPIs shorter than 6 months, there were significantly increased risks
for preterm birth (OR=1.23), SGA (OR=1.14), VSGA (OR=1.15), early neonatal death (OR=1.62)
and congenital malformations (OR=1.14). Intervals of 60 months or longer had higher
risks for preterm birth (OR=1.39) and VSGA (OR=1.16).
Conclusion
Optimal IPI recommendation of >11 months is an accessible and low-cost means to improve
multiple adverse perinatal outcomes.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 23, 2009
Accepted:
June 9,
2009
Received in revised form:
June 9,
2009
Received:
February 11,
2009
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 Published by Elsevier Inc.
