OBJECTIVE:

To describe the maternal and perinatal results in pregnant women with advanced age.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

A cohort study was conducted with prospective follow-up and retrospective data collection of the Clinical History of the University Hospital Complex of Ourense between 2017 and 2018. Two cohorts were established, cohort A with age greater than and equal to 40 years and the cohort B with age under 40 years. Parametric and non-parametric tests were performed to determine the potential association between the study variables (Chi-Square, Student's T, Mann-Whitney U).

RESULTS:

The cohort A patients (n = 207) presented with statistical significance: body mass index higher at the beginning of pregnancy (p = 0.028), higher number of previous pregnancies (p = 0.001), but at the expense of a higher number of abortions (p <0.001), hypertensive states of pregnancy (p = 0.03), prematurity (p = 0.009), intrauterine growth retardation (p = 0.006), fetal macrosomia (p = 0.04), inductions (p < 0.001), of both scheduled and intrapartum caesarean sections and postpartum hemorrhage (p = 0.001). No differences were found in parity, amenorrhea at delivery, pregestational / gestational diabetes, mean fetal weight, Apgar score, umbilical artery pH and number of newborns who required admission to the Neonatal Unit.

CONCLUSIONS:

Advanced maternal age is an important risk factor for maternal and perinatal morbidity. The higher rate of complications described reflects the importance of thorough pregnancy control and careful peripartum surveillance.