Conceiving Within Three Months of Pregnancy Loss Safe

MONDAY, Nov. 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Conceiving within three months after a miscarriage or induced abortion does not appear to be associated with an increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, according to a study published online Nov. 22 in PLOS Medicine.

Gizachew A. Tessema, Ph.D., M.P.H., from Curtin University in Perth, Australia, and colleagues conducted a cohort study using data from 49,058 births following a previous miscarriage and 23,707 births following a previous induced abortion between 2008 and 2016 in Norway. The relationship between the interpregnancy interval (IPI) and six adverse pregnancy outcomes was examined.

The researchers found that births with an IPI of less than three months and three to five months after miscarriage had lower risks for small-for-gestational-age (SGA) pregnancies than those with an IPI of six to 11 months. The risk for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was also lower with an IPI of less than three months after a miscarriage compared with an IPI of six to 11 months. For births following an induced abortion, an IPI of less than three months was associated with a nonsignificantly increased risk for SGA, while the risk for large for gestational age was lower among those with an IPI of three to five months versus six to 11 months. With the exception of an increased risk for GDM, no association was seen between adverse pregnancy outcomes and an IPI of greater than 12 months after miscarriage or induced abortion.

"Our results do not support current international recommendations to wait at least six months after miscarriages or induced abortions," the authors write.

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