News Science & Society

Longer gaps between births can halve infant deaths in developing nations

But increasing that interval makes little difference in developed countries

family planning clinic

LONG INTERVALS  In the world’s least developed countries, spacing births farther apart can save infants’ lives. Here, a young mother in Madagascar visits a health clinic that provides family planning.

USAID in Africa/Flickr

By Sujata Gupta

- More than 2 years ago

In some of the world’s least-developed countries, spacing births two years apart, instead of one, can nearly halve infant mortality rates, a study finds.