Childbearing in Advanced Maternal Age and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Cross-Sectional Study

 Delayed childbearing has become a worldwide phenomenon, yet the association between advanced maternal age (AMA ≥35 years) and pregnancy outcomes remains unclear. This issue has also been inadequately explored in Iran. To assess the relationship between pregnancy complications and AMA in the Iranian context.

This cross-sectional study involved 891 women who had consecutive pregnancies and were referred  for delivery to an academic hospital at Mashhad university of medical sciences, Mashhad , Iran, from March 2015 to March 2019 for  The women were considered  into the two age groups, namely, a 20 to 34year group and an AMA group, who were then assessed in terms of complications of late childbearing, such as preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM); mode of delivery; and five-minute Apgar score. The data were analyzed using the chi-square test and the Mann–Whitney U test in SPSS version 9. The P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

 The AMA group exhibited lower five-minute Apgar scores and a significantly higher prevalence of preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and GDM (p < 0.05). The two groups also substantially differed concerningquality of prenatal care (p < 0.001). Regarding the mode of delivery, cesarean section was more prevalent in the AMA group, whereas vaginal delivery was more common in the younger group (p < 0.001).

With regard to trend to pregnancy in higher maternal age and higher pregnancy complication in this population, precise preconception counseling is crucial to educating couples for early childbearing at younger age.