Although there are several several arguments for the definition of the elderly pregnant women, the term of the elderly gravida is nearly defined as a woman in experiencing the delivery of her baby over 35 years of age.
Many reports had appeared in the literature about the risk of pregnancy over 35 years. For example, many authors discovered in both fetal and maternal complications in this circumstance, but there are many controversies for the results of an article. So, we reviewed our cases. We compared 180 cases of the elderly gravida over 35 years at the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pohang St. Mary’s Hospital, from Jan. 1, 1994 to Dec. 31, 1995, with 180 cases randomly chosen young pregnant women during the same period. The results were as follows. 1. Annual incidence of the elderly gravid is gradually increasing. 2. There were 180 cases of the elderly gravidas among total 4,491 deliveries and the incidence of the elderly gravida was 4.0%. 3. Maternal age was distributed from 35 to 45 years. The majority(72.2%) was in the age group of 35 to 37 years. 4. There was no difference in the numbers of an antenatal care within two groups.
5. The elderly primigravidas were 9 cases(0.5%). 6. Only 7 cases(7.5%) were fetal malpresentation, and lesser incidence than control group. 7. Concerning the antenatal complications, the incidence of premature rupture of membranes was 12.2% compared with 6.7% in the control group. 8. The incidence of the preterm labor was 6.1% and about three times of control group. 9. Among the indication of Cesarean section, the highest incidence was previous Cesarean section(43%) and the other indications were elderly primipara, cephalopelvic disproportion, malpresentation, fetal distress in order of frequency. 10. Among the Cesarean section cases, elective operation cases, elective operation cases were 81.7% comparing with 29.9% in the control group. 11. There was only one case of congenital malformation. 12. The low birth weight was 23 cases(13%) comparing with 8 cases(4.4%) in the control group. 13. The male-to-female sex ration was 1.50 : 1, compared with 1.18 : 1 in the control group. So, the delivery rate of male infant was significantly higher in the elderly group than in the control group.
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