Triplet pregnancies and their aftermaths II. Risks of older mothers and plurality.

There is no literature that accurately reports the risks inherent to the woman over age 40 who carries a triplet pregnancy. Extrapolating the singleton literature does not provide solid evidence, since risks are described variously by different authors and may relate to maternal age or parity as independent factors, which affect both maternal and fetal outcome data. On the other hand, recent population-based surveys strongly suggest that plurality is a more important risk factor than maternal age, for it affects both maternal and fetal outcomes.