Is age -really- a risk factor in pregnancy? | ||
| IRAQI JOURNALOF COMMUNITY MEDICINE | ||
| Article 1, Volume 20, Issue 2, December 2007, Pages 325-330 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Riyadh K. Lafta; Sahar A ISSA | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Abstract: Background: The risk approach fails signally to identify many of women who will need care for complications in childbirth. On the other hand, many women identified as “high risk” go on to have perfectly normal, uneventful births. Objectives: to see if there is a real risk of maternal age in the course and outcome of gestation for both mother and fetus. Methods: This is a cross sectional study conducted in Baghdad during the period from March through October 2004, a sample of 200 women (with 642 pregnancies) was randomly chosen from women attending four primary health care centers, Outpatient and antenatal care clinics. Their ages ranged between 13–50 years. The cases were stratified according to age to 3 main groups: below 18 years, above 35 years and (18-35 years); the last was considered as a control group. Results: The young age group was found to have less infection rate, hospital admission, abortion, puerperal complications and neonatal complications compared to the controls and the old age group (that were almost equal in these aspects). Women of primary education level had less complication in all age groups. Women from the young age group were attending antenatal care more adequately than the controls. Conclusion: Young age pregnancies are at lower risk compared to other age groups. Key words: age, risk, pregnancy. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Age; Risk; Pregnancy | ||
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