Minimum 18 month age gap

[ThatGutsyHedgehog]

I had an emergency c section with my DS (now 5 months old) and was told to not start trying for another till he’s 18 months old by the doctor in hospital.

How do people find a 18m or more age gap?
There is only 21 months between me and my brother and we grew up really close playing together and it worries me with a larger age gap that won’t happen

Obviously don’t know how long it would take when we start trying either

I had a c section for my first and was told anything over 6 months was absolutely fine.

I have a 17 month age gap between mine and it is going well so far!

Most people have 2+ years between siblings, I think? Mine were only 16-17m but that was an accident and I would definitely have preferred a bigger gap!!! That was also after a c-section (though not an emergency one) and I had a VBAC.

Anything up to 3 years is a small age gap. 4-6 years in middling, over 6 gets you into the territory where your milestones might make you think a bit. My bro was off to uni as I started secondary. I personally never saw anything but advantages to our age gap - we always got on, we both had a feeling of getting the best of both worlds as we’d both experienced the domestic advantages of being only children but without missing out on having a sibling.

If all goes well your gap won’t be too large and if you take longer to conceive it will also be fine

I had an EMCS. I was told wait 12-18months before TTC. Which I did, but it's also worked out to 26 months age gap which i preferred; I'd like average of 2 years between kids.

I had an emergency section with my first and similarly was told in the hospital to wait 18 months ‘ideally’.

I did my research and felt comfortable with trying for a smaller gap - and of course was very lucky to then get one. I had a non-complex vbac 17.5 months after my first.

I’m not a medical professional but I’d have thought that if your c section and recovery were straightforward and you don’t have other health concerns then do some research, maybe chat to your GP, and see.

As I understand it the main thing they’re concerned about is the (small) risk of uterine rupture, which is why you’re strongly encouraged to have continuous monitoring in labour with your second (you can, of course, have an elective section).

It’s an intense but lovely age gap and I’m very grateful to have had my children this close together. But it’s definitely a less common gap than 2-3 years, based on the women I met on my first mat leave, who are all having their seconds around now.