Advanced maternal age: the mature gravida.

A 3-year study of women ages 35 years and older who were delivered at Women's Hospital of Long Beach from January 1, 1981, to December 31, 1983, was performed to study the risks involved with advanced maternal age. The study group included 1023 women who were 35 years and older, and they were divided into parous and nulliparous groups. A control group consisting of 5343 women aged 20 to 25 years was used for comparison. Each group was analyzed for the following parameters: pregnancy complications, labor complications, delivery factors, and neonatal outcome. The results show very few statistical differences in the factors analyzed. On the basis of this 3-year study it appears that pregnancies in women of advanced maternal age in the 1980s who are delivered in a modern tertiary care center may be of no higher risk for adverse outcome than pregnancies in younger parturients.