The Trend in Delayed Childbearing Age and Its Potential Impact on Adverse Maternal-Perinatal Outcomes in Developed and Developing Countries: A Narrative Review.

Due to the significant advancement of modern societies, higher education, career growth, and economic independence, more young girls are likely to delay childbearing beyond 30 years of age. The trend of delayed childbearing is more pronounced in industrialized countries but is also becoming common in emerging countries. Delayed childbearing has been linked with several adverse maternal-perinatal outcomes, including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, abnormal placentation, gestational diabetes mellitus, pre-term births, low birthweight, perinatal mortality, congenital birth defects, and chromosomal abnormalities. In this review, we have highlighted the trend of delayed childbearing age, the role of education and employment in delayed childbearing age, and its potential impact on adverse maternal-perinatal outcomes in developed and developing countries.