title: [Birth spacing: collaborative study of eight state maternities].
abstract: We collected data con 2,434 deliveries of live newborns (1.5% of the total for the country) in 8 state supported maternity wards of urban areas in Chile. First children, stillbirths and twins were excluded. Proportion of the sample according to city was: West Santiago 41%, Talcahuano 16%, Valparaíso 14%, Arica 8%, Chillan 7%, Valdivia 6%, Punta Arenas 6%, and Coyhaique 2%. The intergenesic interval was over 5 years in 38%, over 4 years in 48% and under 1 year in only 1.9% of cases, with minimal inter-city variation. Contraceptive agents were used by 26% of mothers with intergenesic interval under 1 year and 21% of those over 5 years, significantly higher than that found in the other intervals. Maternal age was between 20 and 29 years in 60%; only 8% of mothers were younger than 20 or older than 40 years of age. The incidence of cesarean section increased from 21 to 28.6% with increasing intergenesic interval. Mean weight of newborns was 3,338 g, significantly lower in the intergenesic interval under 1 year (3,251 g). The incidence of low birth weight was also highest in the latter group.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile (División Occidente), Santiago.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Méndez
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dazzarola
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Núñez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Calvo
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Valderrama
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Montt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001721:Birth Intervals; D001724:Birth Weight; D002677:Chile; D003270:Contraceptive Agents; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D005260:Female; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity; D006773:Hospitals, Municipal; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008423:Maternal Age; D010298:Parity
chemical_list: D003270:Contraceptive Agents
vernacular_title: Espaciamiento intergenésico: estudio colaborativo de ocho maternidades estatales.