Advanced maternal age and adverse pregnancy outcomes

Abstract

A wide range of adverse pregnancy outcomes are associated with women of advanced maternal age (AMA). These include increased risks for miscarriage, chromosomal abnormalities, stillbirth, foetal growth restriction, preterm birth, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus and caesarean section. While a wide body of literature has reported on these risks, varying definitions in both AMA and reported outcomes can make synthesizing the information difficult when counselling an individual women about her specific risks. In this chapter, we discuss the role of AMA on adverse pregnancy outcomes with a view to clarifying the magnitude of the risks for each outcome in the context to enable more informed clinical counselling and decision-making.