Health Benefits of Appropriate Timing, Spacing and Avoiding High Parity and Risks of Unplanned Fertility for the Mother

Abstract

Childbirth in developing countries remains the main cause of death in females between the ages of 15 and 45 and considerably affects female life expectancy. Differences in maternal mortality in the developed and developing world are shocking (Table 1). Between 4 to 40 deaths per 100,000 births occur in developed countries compared to 40 to 120 in developing countries, and 150 to 300 in underdeveloped or least developed countries. A recent summary of maternal mortality from India shows a mortality rate of 750 per 100,000 while in Denmark it is only 4 per 100,000. Morbidity in the form of anemia from repeated pregnancies and intercurrent infections have contributed to obstetrical complications adding to the heavy penalty of motherhood in the developing world (1–9).