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Objective: To assess whether interpregnancy interval length after a pregnancy loss is associated with risk of repeat miscarriage.Methods: This analysis includes pregnant women participating in the Right From the Start (2000-2012) community-based prospective cohort study whose most recent pregnancy before enrollment ended in miscarriage. Interpregnancy interval was defined as the time between a prior miscarriage and the last menstrual period of the study pregnancy. Miscarriage was defined as pregnancy loss before 20 weeks of gestation. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate crude and adjusted hazard ratios and 95% CIs for the association between different interpregnancy interval lengths and miscarriage in the study pregnancy. Adjusted models included maternal age, race, parity, body mass index, and education.Results: Among the 514 study participants who reported miscarriage as their most recent pregnancy outcome, 15.7% had a repeat miscarriage in the study pregnancy (n=81). Median maternal age was 30 years (interquartile range 27-34) and 55.6% of participants had at least one previous livebirth (n=286). When compared with women with interpregnancy intervals of 6-18 months (n=136), women with intervals of less than 3 months (n=124) had the lowest risk of repeat miscarriage (7.3% compared with 22.1%; adjusted hazard ratio 0.33, 95% CI 0.16-0.71). Neither maternal race nor parity modified the association. Attempting to conceive immediately was not associated with increased risk of miscarriage in the next pregnancy.Conclusion: An interpregnancy interval after pregnancy loss of less than 3 months is associated with the lowest risk of subsequent miscarriage. This implies counseling women to delay conception to reduce risk of miscarriage may not be warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess whether the length of the interpregnancy interval after termination of pregnancy influences the risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and small-for-gestational-age neonates in a subsequent pregnancy.Methods: In this register-based study, we included all women (N=19,894) who underwent termination of pregnancy between 2000 and 2009 and whose subsequent pregnancy ended in live singleton delivery. The women were divided into five groups depending on the interpregnancy interval between termination of pregnancy and subsequent conception: interpregnancy interval less than 6 months (n=2,956), 6 to less than 12 months (n=3,203), 12 to less than 18 months (n=2,623), 18 to less than 24 months (n=2,076), and 24 months or greater (n=9,036). The incidences and unadjusted and adjusted risks of preterm birth, low birth weight, and small-for-gestational-age neonates were calculated in relation to the different interpregnancy interval lengths, the reference group being that with an interpregnancy interval of 18 to less than 24 months.Results: There was a significant difference in the rate of preterm birth between the group with the interpregnancy interval less than 6 months and the reference group (5.6% compared with 4.0%, respectively, P=.008). After adjusting for nine background factors, an interpregnancy interval of less than 6 months was associated with an increased risk of preterm birth (adjusted odds ratio 1.35, 95% confidence interval 1.02-1.77). No such association emerged in longer interpregnancy interval groups or regarding other adverse events. The possibility of unmeasured confounding cannot be ruled out.Conclusion: Slightly but significantly increased estimated risk of preterm delivery in subsequent pregnancy was seen when the interpregnancy interval after termination of pregnancy was less than 6 months. These data emphasize the need for prompt initiation of effective contraception after termination and enable counseling the patient for optimal conception interval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on interpregnancy interval. Topics discussed include conception of the subsequent pregnancy after the end of one, modifications that improve the outcome of the subsequent pregnancy, and women who become pregnant again shortly after delivery. Also being discussed is the common flaw that cause the increased risk of short intervals between two pregnancies.