Perinatal and Maternal Outcomes Following Induction of Labour at 39 Versus 41 Weeks in Pregnant Women age 35 Years or over: Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

The increased occurrence of births at older maternal ages is due to the increased population of women aged 35 to 45, as well as later marriage, second marriage, the availability of better contraceptive options, and wider opportunities for further education and career advancement (Wu et al., 2008; Uptodate, 2018). Fertility clearly declines with advancing age, especially after the mid-30s, and women who conceive are at greater risk of pregnancy complications (Luke & Brown, 2007). Older women are at increased risk of pregnancy complications, including gestational diabetes, placenta praevia, and postpartum haemorrhage (Josef et al., 2005; Knight et al., 2017), and experience higher rates of intervention during labour and delivery (Smith et al., 2008; Knight et al., 2017), women ≥35 years of age are more likely than younger women to be delivered by cesarean (Richard et al., 2016).