HOW LONG SHOULD A WOMAN WAIT BEFORE GETTING
PREGNANT AGAIN?
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Key Points
- It's best for a woman to wait at least 18 months (one and a half years) between giving birth and getting pregnant again.
- Too little time between pregnancies increases risk of premature birth. The shorter the time between pregnancies, the higher the risk is.
- Premature babies are more likely to have health problems than babies born on time.
- A woman's body needs time to fully recover from her last pregnancy before it's ready for her next pregnancy.
- A woman should use birth control until they are ready to get pregnant again. Examples of birth control include IUDs, implants, the pill and condoms.
For most women, how long should you wait before getting pregnant again?
For most women, it's best to wait at least 18 months between giving birth and getting pregnant again. This means the baby will be at least one and a half years old before a woman gets pregnant with another baby. This much time gives a woman's body time to fully recover from the last pregnancy before it's ready for the next pregnancy.
Why is waiting at least 18 months between pregnancies important?
A woman who gets pregnant before 18 months increase the risk of certain health problems for the baby, including:
- Premature birth
- Low birthweight
Babies with these health conditions are more likely to have long-term health problems or even die than babies without these conditions.
Why does getting pregnant again too soon increase a woman's chances for premature birth?
Experts don't know for sure why getting pregnant again too soon increases the chances of premature birth and other health problems for the baby. A woman's body needs time to:
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Build up its supply of nutrients, like folic acid. Nutrients, like vitamins and minerals, help a woman's body stay healthy. If a woman's body doesn't have enough nutrients and she gets pregnant again too soon, it may cause health problems for the woman and her baby. For example, during pregnancy and breastfeeding, the baby gets the nutrients she needs from a woman's body. After having a baby, a woman's body may not have enough of certain nutrients, like folic acid. Folic acid is a vitamin that every cell in a woman's body needs for normal growth and development. If a woman takes it before she gets pregnant, it can help reduce the baby's chances of having birth defects of the brain and spine (neural tube defects). If a woman gets pregnant again too soon and her folic acid levels are low, the next baby is more likely to be born prematurely, with low birthweight or neural tube defects.
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Healing from infecting and inflammation. Infection during pregnancy can lead to inflamation in parts of a woman's body, like the uterus. If a woman has a condition like endometritis during her pregnancy and gets pregnant again before her body has fully healed, she may have the condition again in the next pregnancy. Inflammation may play a role in preterm premature rupture of membranes (also called PPROM).
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Reset the microbiome of the vagina. The microbiome is a group of microorganisms. Microorganisms are living things that are so small you need a microscope to see them. Some experts think the microbiome in a woman's vagina may play a role in premature birth. For example, having an infection like bacterial vaginosis affects the vaginal microbiome and can increase your chances of having a premature baby. Also, the vaginal microbiome of women who have had a premature baby may be different than that of women who have a baby after 37 weeks of pregnancy. And it may take time - even a year - for the vaginal microbiome to go back to how it was before pregnancy. So getting pregnant again too soon may cause problems in the next pregnancy, like premature birth. The March of Dimes supports research to learn more about the vaginal microbiome and premature birth.
Source: https://www.marchofdimes.org/pregnancy/how-long-should-you-wait-before-getting-pregnant-again.aspx
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Board Membership
Please contact Heather Hollingsworth if you have someone interested in becoming a Board Director. We are currently looking for representation from all three categories: community; advocacy and consumer.
FPQC MORE Initiative E-Bulletin
Healthy Start of North Central Florida was recently highlighted in the FPQC MORE Initiative E-Bulletin. You can check that out here.
HSNCF is on AmazonSmile
Don't forget to shop using AmazonSmile! With every purchase made using the following link, Amazon will make a donation to Healthy Start of North Central Florida at no additional cost to you. How cool is that? Go ahead and get your "shop" on! https://smile.amazon.com/ch/59-3118984
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Staff Anniversaries
Elizabeth Garcia, Connect Representative, celebrated her 2 year anniversary on January 3rd with our team! Thank you Elizabeth for all you do for our mothers and babies!
World's Greatest Baby Shower Event
Alachua County will be hosting their 17th Annual Jesse "Sam" Butz World's Greatest Baby Shower: Pandemic Edition on Saturday, February 27, 2021. The event will be held via drive-thru at Lincoln Middle School located at 1001 SE 12th Street, Gainesville, Florida.
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Healthy Start
Tiffany King, Administrative Assistant
CONNECT
Tara Espada, CONNECT Representative
Maria T. Franco, CONNECT Representative
NewboRN Home Visiting Program
Jo Aine Clark, Family Partner
Smeda L. Corneille, Family Partner
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While Nurse-Family Partnership is new to our area, this program has been around since 1977. Nurse-Family Partnership is a home-visiting program targeting low-income, first-time pregnant women with substance use disorders. Nurse-Family Partnership provides services for the mother and her baby up until age two with weekly or bi-weekly home visits by specially trained Registered Nurses. All services provided by Nurse-Family Partnership are FREE! Please join us to learn more about Nurse-Family Partnership and how we can make a difference in our community!
Please join us for one of the following Nurse-Family Parntership introductory meetings:
Dixie/Gilchrist/Levy Counties: Monday, February 8, 2021 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM, Click here for the zoom meeting link
Hernando County: Tuesday, February 9, 2021 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM, Click here for the zoom meeting link
Alachua County: Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM, Click here for the zoom meeting link
Marion County: Tuesday, February 9, 2021 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM, Click here for the zoom meeting link
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Please Welcome Our Nurse-Family Partnership Team
Lindsey Azar, MPH, Women's Intervention Specialist (WIS) for Hernando and Marion counties
April Lavergne-Hollinger, RN, BSN, Nurse Home Visitor
Katherine A Muirhead, RN, BSN, Nurse Home Visitor
Kristin Nunez, RN, BSN, IBCLC, Nurse Supervisor
Erin Peterson, BS, Women's Intervention Specialist (WIS) for Alachua, Dixie, Gilchrist, and Levy counties (Erin is new to Nurse Family Partnership but has been with Healthy Start for 4 years as the Community Liaison.)
Hannah Rains, Data Entry Clerk
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2020-2021 LEGISLATIVE MATERIALS
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Coalition staff have been working hard to meet with our local legislators since the beginning of October to remind them of the great things we do for mothers and families with young children in our local communities. We've had great conversations filled with encouraging words and a genuine interest in learning more about the Healthy Start program. We've included some off the information we share wtih our legislators during our virtual visits here.
If you are meeting with a legislator or are participating in a delegation meeting, please be sure to share this information about Healthy Start during your visit. It's always great to share the wonderful collaborations we have with other agencies and organizations who serve our target audience in different ways.
Click here for all of the virtual legislative materials.
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President - Roseann Fricks
Vice President - Sharon Surrency
Treasurer - Cathy Winfrey
Secretary - Lauren Mollman
Ann-Marie Fenn, Midwife
Roseann Fricks, Early Learning Coalition of Marion County
Lauren Mollman, Suwannee River Area Health Education Center
Deepthi Satheesa Varma, University of Florida, Department of Epidemiology
Chris Schreier, Gainesville Pediatric Associates
Sharon Surrency, Partnership for Strong Families
Cathy Winfrey, Healthy Families ACUB
Cassandra Young, UF Health at Shands, Women's Health
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Healthy Start of North Central Florida, Inc. | www.healthystartncf.org
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