Planning a Pregnancy

Health Between Pregnancies

Care Between Pregnancies

The time between pregnancies is an important time for you to take care of yourself. This is especially vital if your last baby was born early, had a low birth weight or other health problems, or if your pregnancy resulted in miscarriage or infant death. Your health care provider can talk to you about reducing medical risks that may have contributed to these outcomes, for your next pregnancy.

Use this time to focus on taking care of you and making any lifestyle changes such as stopping or reducing smoking, eating healthy and being physically active to achieve a normal weight.Being the healthiest possible between pregnancies, will help you to reduce or control the risks linked with adverse outcomes in pregnancy.

For more information on pre‑pregnancy health, click here.

For more information about caring for yourself if you have a baby (0‑6 months old), click here.

For more information on caring for yourself if you have a toddler (6‑36 months old), click here.

Child Spacing

Have you ever wondered how long you should wait between pregnancies? Research shows that it is best to wait at least 18 months between the birth of one child and the time you get pregnant again. When pregnancies are closer together than this, there is a higher chance of preterm birth and low birthweight babies. A woman’s body needs time to rebuild for the next pregnancy.

For information about forms of birth control, click here.

Vaginal Births After Caesarean (VBAC)

Most women who have had a caesarean birth can have a vaginal birth for their next pregnancy. You should be offered a “trial of labour” or an attempt to have a vaginal birth if:

• your hospital has timely access to do a caesarean birth if needed
• your pregnancy is healthy, with no risks identified
• the reason you had a caesarean before no longer applies
• the incision you had before is across your uterus, not up and down

If you want to learn more about VBAC, visit the HealthLink BC webpage Vaginal Birth After Caesarean (VBAC).

Power to Push Campaign

The Power to Push Campaign provides trustworthy, up-to-date resources for pregnant women and their families in BC, encouraging them to know their options, advocate for their choices, and push for the safest and best birth possible. The campaign also offers research-based information and resources to maternity care providers across BC to help them support women's childbirth choices, including vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) and breech birth.