BackgroundOne of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals of 2000 was to reduce maternal mortality by 75% in 15 y; however, this challenge was not met by many industrialized countries. As average maternal age continues to rise in these countries, associated potentially life-threatening severe maternal morbidity has been understudied. Our primary objective was to examine the associations between maternal age and severe maternal morbidities. The secondary objective was to compare these associations with those for adverse fetal/infant outcomes.Methods and findingsThis was a population-based retrospective cohort study, including all singleton births to women residing in Washington State, US, 1 January 2003–31 December 2013 (n = 828,269).We compared age-specific rates of maternal mortality/severe morbidity (e.g., obstetric shock) and adverse fetal/infant outcomes (e.g., perinatal death). Logistic regression was used to adjust for parity, body mass index, assisted conception, and other potential confounders. We compared crude odds ratios (ORs) and adjusted ORs (AORs) and risk differences and their 95% CIs.Severe maternal morbidity was significantly higher among teenage mothers than among those 25–29 y (crude OR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.5–1.6) and increased exponentially with maternal age over 39 y, from OR = 1.2 (95% CI 1.2–1.3) among women aged 35–39 y to OR = 5.4 (95% CI 2.4–12.5) among women aged ≥50 y. The elevated risk of severe morbidity among teen mothers disappeared after adjustment for confounders, except for maternal sepsis (AOR = 1.2, 95% CI 1.1–1.4). Adjusted rates of severe morbidity remained increased among mothers ≥35 y, namely, the rates of amniotic fluid embolism (AOR = 8.0, 95% CI 2.7–23.7) and obstetric shock (AOR = 2.9, 95% CI 1.3–6.6) among mothers ≥40 y, and renal failure (AOR = 15.9, 95% CI 4.8–52.0), complications of obstetric interventions (AOR = 4.7, 95% CI 2.3–9.5), and intensive care unit (ICU) admission (AOR = 4.8, 95% CI 2.0–11.9) among those 45–49 y. The adjusted risk difference in severe maternal morbidity compared to mothers 25–29 y was 0.9% (95% CI 0.7%–1.2%) for mothers 40–44 y, 1.6% (95% CI 0.7%–2.8%) for mothers 45–49 y, and 6.4% for mothers ≥50 y (95% CI 1.7%–18.2%). Similar associations were observed for fetal and infant outcomes; neonatal mortality was elevated in teen mothers (AOR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.2–1.7), while mothers over 29 y had higher risk of stillbirth. The rate of severe maternal morbidity among women over 49 y was higher than the rate of mortality/serious morbidity of their offspring. Despite the large sample size, statistical power was insufficient to examine the association between maternal age and maternal death or very rare severe morbidities.ConclusionsMaternal age-specific incidence of severe morbidity varied by outcome. Older women (≥40 y) had significantly elevated rates of some of the most severe, potentially life-threatening morbidities, including renal failure, shock, acute cardiac morbidity, serious complications of obstetric interventions, and ICU admission. ...

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IMPORTANCE To date, few attempts have been made to examine associations between exposure to maternal epilepsy with or without antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy and pregnancy and perinatal outcomes.OBJECTIVES To investigate associations between epilepsy in pregnancy and risks of pregnancy and perinatal outcomes as well as whether use of AEDs influenced risks. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSA population-based cohort study was conducted on all singleton births at 22 or more completed gestational weeks in Sweden from 1997 through 2011; of these, 1 424 279 were included in the sample. Information on AED exposure was

ObjectiveTo investigate associations between Apgar score at five and 10 minutes across the entire range of score values (from 0 to 10) and risks of childhood cerebral palsy or epilepsy, and to analyse the effect of changes in Apgar scores from five to 10 minutes after birth in infants born ≥37 completed weeks.Design, setting, and participantsPopulation based cohort study in Sweden, including 1 213 470 non-malformed live singleton infants, born at term between 1999 and 2012. Data on maternal and pregnancy characteristics and diagnoses of cerebral palsy and epilepsy were obtained by individual record linkages of nationwide Swedish registries.ExposuresApgar scores at five and 10 minutes.Main outcome measureCerebral palsy and epilepsy diagnosed up to 16 years of age. Adjusted hazard ratios were calculated, along with 95% confidence intervals.Results1221 (0.1%) children were diagnosed as having cerebral palsy and 3975 (0.3%) as having epilepsy. Compared with children with an Apgar score of 10 at five minutes, the adjusted hazard ratio for cerebral palsy increased steadily with decreasing Apgar score: from 1.9 (95% confidence interval 1.6 to 2.2) for an Apgar score of 9 to 277.7 (154.4 to 499.5) for an Apgar score of 0. Similar and even stronger associations were obtained between Apgar scores at 10 minutes and cerebral palsy. Associations between Apgar scores and epilepsy were less pronounced, but increased hazard ratios were noted in infants with a five minute Apgar score of 7 or less and a 10 minute Apgar score of 8 or less. Compared with infants with an Apgar of 9-10 at both five and 10 minutes, hazard ratios of cerebral palsy and epilepsy were higher among infants with a five minute Apgar score of 7-8 and a 10 minute Apgar score of 9-10.ConclusionRisks of cerebral palsy and epilepsy are inversely associated with five minute and 10 minute Apgar scores across the entire range of Apgar scores.

Temporal increases in optimal exposure to antenatal corticosteroids have been matched by increases in suboptimal and questionably appropriate receipt of antenatal corticosteroids, highlighting the need for accurate preterm delivery prognostic models.

Large temporal increases and substantial spatial variations in ankyloglossia and frenotomy rates were observed that may indicate a diagnostic suspicion bias and increasing use of a potentially unnecessary surgical procedure among infants.

Objective To investigate associations between Apgar scores of 7, 8, and 9 (versus 10) at 1, 5, and 10 minutes, and neonatal mortality and morbidity. Design Population based cohort study. Setting Sweden. Participants 1 551 436 non-malformed live singleton infants, born at term (≥37 weeks’ gestation) between 1999 and 2016, with Apgar scores of ≥7 at 1, 5, and 10 minutes. Exposures Infants with Apgar scores of 7, 8, and 9 at 1, 5, and 10 minutes were compared with those with an Apgar score of 10 at 1, 5, and 10 minutes, respectively. Main outcome measures Neonatal mortality and morbidity, including neonatal infections, asphyxia related complications, respiratory distress, and neonatal hypoglycaemia. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR), adjusted rate differences (aRD), and 95% confidence intervals were estimated. Results Compared with infants with an Apgar score of 10, aORs for neonatal mortality, neonatal infections, asphyxia related complications, respiratory distress, and neonatal hypoglycaemia were higher among infants with lower Apgar scores, especially at 5 and 10 minutes. For example, the aORs for respiratory distress for an Apgar score of 9 versus 10 were 2.0 (95% confidence interval 1.9 to 2.1) at 1 minute, 5.2 (5.1 to 5.4) at 5 minutes, and 12.4 (12.0 to 12.9) at 10 minutes. Compared with an Apgar score of 10 at 10 minutes, the aRD for respiratory distress was 9.5% (95% confidence interval 9.2% to 9.9%) for an Apgar score of 9 at 10 minutes, and 41.9% (37.7% to 46.4%) for an Apgar score of 7 at 10 minutes. A reduction in Apgar score from 10 at 5 minutes to 9 at 10 minutes was also associated with higher odds of neonatal morbidity, compared with a stable Apgar score of 10 at 5 and 10 minutes. Conclusions In term non-malformed infants with Apgar scores within the normal range (7 to 10), risks of neonatal mortality and morbidity are higher among infants with lower Apgar score values, and also among those experiencing a reduction in score from 5 minutes to 10 minutes (compared with infants with stable Apgar scores of 10).