Inter-pregnancy intervals and maternal morbidity in Matlab, Bangladesh

Abdur Razzaque, ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research
Julie DaVanzo, RAND
Mehrab A. Khan, Bangladesh Centre for Communication Programs

The study examines whether the duration of inter-pregnancy intervals affects the risk of maternal morbidity using data from the MCH-FP area of Matlab. Out of 21,244 pregnancies identified by the Community Health Research Workers during 1996-2002, 11,122 pregnant women came to the health centre for an antenatal check-up in their third trimester of pregnancy and included in the analysis. Pre-eclampsia, proteinuria, blood pressure, bleeding, premature rupture of membranes and edema all tend to be higher for women with short inter-pregnancy intervals (under 6 months) and long intervals (over 75 months) compared to interval category of 27-50 months. After controlling for all variables in the regression model, only pre-eclampsia and high blood pressure are significantly higher for women with intervals of less than 6 months and over 75 months compared to those with intervals of 27-50 months while for edema, it is significantly higher for over 75 months inter-pregnancy intervals.