A 10-year study of women ages 35 years and older (N=187) who were delivered at Hanyang University Hospital from January 1, 1983, to December 31, 1992, was performed to evaluate the risks involved with advanced maternal age, For reviewing Korean
situation, four original articles concerning 'elderly primipara' in Korea were also reviewed and analysed.
@ES The brief results were as follows:
@EN 1. There were 608 cases of elderly primipara among 69,944 deliveries, with the incidence of 0.9% from 1959 to 1992 in Korea. The incidence of elderly primipara were increasing recently.
2. Recently, antepartum complications such as pregnancy induced hypertension, premature rupture of membrane, placenta previa, and abruptio placenta were decreased as compared to 1960th and 1970th decades in Korea. However, the incidences of these
antepartum complications were still high as compared to incidence of other countries.
3. The incidence of operative delivery is also higher than that of other counturies.
The women older than 35 years of age who chooses to become pregnant should be informed that there is an increased risk of antepartum complications, such as pregnancy induced hypertension, premature rupture of membrane, placenta previa, and
abruptio
placenta. However, elderly primiparas can also be reassured that with appropriate antepartum testing and surveillance, a successful pregnancy outcome can be expected in the vast majority of cases. Therefore, age should not be viewed as an
absolute
barrier to her reproductive decisions.
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