Influence of parity on the obstetric performance of mothers aged 40 years and above.

We reviewed the delivery records of 205 mothers aged 40 years and above who delivered from 1st January 1994 to 31st December 1996 to examine the influence of parity on their obstetric performance. There were 51 (24.9%) primiparous mothers. The incidences of antenatal complications (antepartum haemorrhage, hypertensive disorder, glucose intolerance, prematurity), labour performance (type of labour, mode of delivery) and neonatal outcome (birth weight, Apgar scores, neonatal intensive care unit admission, perinatal mortality) were compared between the 51 (24.9%) primiparous and the 154 (75.1%) multiparous mothers. Higher incidences of antepartum haemorrhage (17.6 versus 5.8%, P = 0.0188), hypertensive disorder (17.6 versus 5.2%, P = 0.015), labour induction (33.3 versus 14.3%, P = 0.004) and Caesarean section delivery (58.8 versus 20.8%, P < 0.0001) were found among the primiparous mothers than the multiparous group. Neonatal outcome, however, was similar in both groups. We conclude that the primiparous mothers aged 40 years and above had more complicated antenatal and labour courses than multiparous mothers. On the other hand, the neonatal outcomes of two groups were comparable.