The role of parity in the mode of delivery in advanced maternal age women

Abstract

Objectives: to describe the profile of Brazilian Advanced Maternal Age (AMA) women (> 35 years) according to parity, as well as to analyze the role of parity in the relationship between AMA and mode of delivery. Methods: this is a cross-sectional study, based on the “Nascer no Brasil” (Born in Brazil) survey. The data were collected in 2011/2012. The chi-square test was performed to verify the association between parity and maternal, prenatal and delivery characteristics, maternal habits, pre-pregnancy diseases, maternal complications and obstetric history. Results: of the 2,510 puerperal AMA women, 20.2% were nulliparous, 54.4% had one or two previous births and 25.4% had three or more previous births. The nulliparous women had higher schooling, higher economic class and adequate BMI, were white; and had better maternal habits when compared to multiparous. However, they were also more submitted to cesarean section, although without reported complications. Conclusions: one cannot speak of AMA pregnant women as a homogeneous group in Brazil. There are inequalities that can be revealed via parity, since nulliparous women have maternal characteristics, habits and access to prenatal care and childbirth that are more advantageous than multiparous women.

Role of Parity and Age in Cesarean Section Rate among Women: A Retrospective Cohort Study in Hail, Saudi Arabia

“…Advanced maternal age may be related to the tendency to postpone pregnancy due to the prolongation of life expectancy and the increase in educational and professional opportunities for women, in addition to the wide use of contraceptive methods and the availability of assisted reproduction [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. This is observed despite the awareness of the higher rate of complications in a late pregnancy [ 30 ]. Another possible reason for the increasing CS rate is women’s preference to avoid the pain associated with a normal delivery; 55.35% of those who choose to undergo CS thought this method is associated with less pain than vaginal delivery [ 31 ].…”

“…Our results differ from the results shown by a study performed by Martinelli et al (2021) that studied the association between parity and the mode of delivery in women of advanced maternal age. They observed that women of an advanced maternal age were more likely to undergo cesarean section [ 30 ]. Inconsistency between our results and the literature may be due to a smaller sample size in our study compared with the sample size of studies such as the one carried out by Qublan et al where 7671 deliveries were included [ 13 ].…”