Child Spacing
Mar 28, 2023
The idea of child spacing is something I never stopped to consider when we were family planning. While we love the fact that our boys are close in age, I do think there are some benefits to spacing out children that is rarely discussed in America.
Despite the popular “bounce back” culture, healing and restoring minerals after one pregnancy (and breastfeeding) takes time. According to Dr. Robert Thompson, over the course of one pregnancy, the baby will take about 4 POUNDS of minerals from the mother. This equates to about 10% of mom’s mineral supply. This percentage increases with each pregnancy, if there is not appropriate time to replenish.
One study looked at physical comparisons between over 400 children (several groups of siblings) and observed more narrow and recessed jaws, less pronounced eye brow structure and flatter cheek bones in the younger siblings. Mineral depletion, less time breastfeeding and increased levels of stress (for mom) are likely all contributors to these physical changes in the younger siblings.
There can also be many psychological benefits to the mother and family unit when there is 3-5 years between children. Typically, there are less demands on mother (exclusively) as the children get older. Therefore, more time between children could alleviate *some*of the guilt and exhaustion that many mothers face during postpartum and caring for a newborn and not to mention have a positive impact on your marriage as well.
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