WOMEN URGED TO WAIT BEFORE A NEW PREGNANCY

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Women face a significantly lower risk of difficulties in connection with carrying a healthy child to term if they wait nine months after childbirth before becoming pregnant again, according to a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. By taking this period to regain their strength, the study said, key nutritional reserves can be rebuilt. The recommendation is emphasized for black women, among whom the risk of giving birth to a premature or under-weight baby triples if the pregnancies are less than nine months apart. Researchers tracked 1,922 mothers in an army hospital, where all had the same income level and prenatal health care.