Adverse Maternal and Perinatal Outcome of Women Aged 40 Years or Over: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

BACKGROUNDAdvanced maternal age is traditionally described to be 35 years of age or over. In recent years, new trends have suggested that it may be 40 years of age or over; this occurs in Hungary.AIMThe aim of this study was to determine the association between advanced maternal age and various adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes.METHODSA retrospective analysis was performed among women who delivered between 2015 and 2017. All women aged 40 years or over (cases) were involved into the analysis (n = 374). The controls (n = 378) were randomly selected from women aged 25 to 29 years who delivered during the same period considering the number of previous gestations and previous deliveries. The data collected from the medical records comprised the mothers’ demographic and obstetric characteristics and neonatal data. To assess the contribution of maternal age to various maternal and neonatal outcomes, multiple logistic regression analyses were used.RESULTSThe logistic regression analyses showed higher odds of gestational diabetes (AOR, adjusted odds ratio: 2.81), preeclampsia (AOR: 13.05), threatened preterm delivery (AOR: 3.62), and cesarean section (AOR: 3.31) in mothers of higher age. The odds of low birth weight (AOR: 2.56) and intensive care (AOR: 2.03) were significantly higher in older vs. younger mothers, while no significant associations were between maternal age and fetal macrosomia and congenital malformations.CONCLUSIONSConsidering our results, it is important to educate women about the consequences of delayed childbearing and the need of continuous observation within prenatal care.