A new study has stated that there should be a gap of at least a year between giving birth and getting pregnant again. Mothers should wait this long in order to avoid health risks. Published in JAMA Internal Medicine and conducted by University of British Columbia (UBC) and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, the study examined almost 150,000 births in Canada.

According to a report in BBC, a year-long gap ensures that risks like mother mortality, premature births and smaller babies can be avoided. Dr Wendy Norman, senior author of the study says that findings should be a welcoming news for older women.

“Older mothers for the first time have excellent evidence to guide the spacing of their children. Achieving that optimal one-year interval should be doable for many women and is clearly worthwhile to reduce complication risks,” she said.

A year or 18 months is being considered as the ideal time gap between giving birth and becoming pregnant again.

“Our study found increased risks to both mother and infant when pregnancies are closely spaced, including for women older than 35. The findings for older women are particularly important, as older women tend to more closely space their pregnancies and often do so intentionally,” said Laura Schummers, study’s lead author.

Since the study looked at only one section of women in Canada, it is not yet certain how the findings will be applicable to the rest of the world.