PEDIATRICS Vol. 89 No. 6 June 1992, pp. 1049-1054
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Huttly, S. R. A.
Right arrow Articles by Vaughan, J. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Huttly, S. R. A.
Right arrow Articles by Vaughan, J. P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Birth Spacing and Child Health in Urban Brazilian Children

Sharon R. A. Huttly MSc1, Cesar G. Victora MD, PhD2, Fernando C. Barros MD, PhD2, and J. Patrick Vaughan MD3

1 From the Departamento de Medicina Social, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil; Department of Public Health and Policy and Maternal and Child Epidemiology Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, England
2 From the Departamento de Medicina Social, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil
3 From the Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, England

The associations between birth interval and a range of child health outcomes were examined in a population-based cohort of approximately 3500 urban Brazilian children. The effects of several socioeconomic and maternal confounding factors were controlled for in the analyses. Children born after shorter birth intervals (<18 and 18 through 23 months) were disadvantaged with respect to most of the health outcomes when compared with children born after intermediate birth intervals (24 through 35, 36 through 47, and 48 through 71 months). Effects were particularly marked for birth weight, postneonatal mortality, and anthropometric status at mean age 19 months. Children born after a long birth interval (>71 months) also showed some disadvantage for birth weight, perinatal mortality, and infant mortality. However, this group experienced lower risks of hospitalizations during the first 19 months of life and better anthropometric status at mean age 19 months. This study provides data that are scarce from such settings and contributes to the quantification of associations between birth spacing and child health. This information is important in the planning of appropriate intervention strategies.

Key Words: birth intervals • birth weight • fetal growth retardation • infant mortality • malnutrition • morbidity

Submitted on June 19, 1991
Accepted on September 13, 1991


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 JAMAHome page
A. Conde-Agudelo, A. Rosas-Bermudez, and A. C. Kafury-Goeta
Birth spacing and risk of adverse perinatal outcomes: a meta-analysis.
JAMA, April 19, 2006; 295(15): 1809 - 1823.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Int J EpidemiolHome page
C. G Victora and F. C Barros
Cohort Profile: The 1982 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort Study
Int. J. Epidemiol., April 1, 2006; 35(2): 237 - 242.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of HealthHome page
S M Al-Almaie
The pattern and factors associated with child spacing in eastern Saudi Arabia
Perspectives in Public Health, December 1, 2003; 123(4): 217 - 221.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
C. D. Siegel, P. Graves, K. Maloney, J. M. Norris, B. N. Calonge, and D. Lezotte
Mortality From Intentional and Unintentional Injury Among Infants of Young Mothers in Colorado, 1986 to 1992
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, October 1, 1996; 150(10): 1077 - 1083.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 NEJMHome page
J. S. Rawlings, V. B. Rawlings, and J. A. Read
Prevalence of Low Birth Weight and Preterm Delivery in Relation to the Interval between Pregnancies among White and Black Women
N. Engl. J. Med., January 12, 1995; 332(2): 69 - 74.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]