Childbearing after 40 Years: A Challenge of the Modern Obstetrics

Abstract

Aim: Age at delivery has increased in the past decades, leading to a continuous growth of the number of women planning a pregnancy after the age of forty. Because delivering after this age is associated with an increased rate of maternal compli cations, the objective of this study was to analyze the delivery related issues in women ≥40 years of age. Materials and methods:This was a retrospective study con ducted in the 1st Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cluj Napoca in a 3year period. One hundred and fortytwo patients ≥40 years of age that delivered between 2010 and 2012 were included in the analysis. Results:The frequency of deliveries after the age of 40 was 2.42% of all the deliveries. Eighty percent of nulliparous and 51.72% of multiparous women delivered by cesarean section. A significantly higher percentage of primiparous women deli vered by cesarean section compared to secundiparous women (p = 0.0007). Fetal weight was significantly higher in multiparous than in primiparous women in the CS group (p = 0.01). No differences were observed between the Apgar scores according to the delivery mode or parity in the study group.Conclusion: Delivery after 40 years of age is associated with an increased number of obstetrical interventions.