Perinatal outcome of induced and spontaneous pregnancies of primiparous women aged 35 or over.

OBJECTIVES

To compare the neonatal and maternal morbidity data associated with induced or naturally conceived pregnancies of primiparous women aged 35 years and older.

METHODS

We recruited primiparous women aged 35 years and older, who delivered between January 1995 and December 2000. The outcomes of the induced (n=62) and naturally conceived (n=132) pregnancies were compared. The Fisher exact test was used for univariate analysis in order to compare the delivery and pregnancy characteristics in the two groups.

RESULTS

Cesarean section featured with a 0.76 times lower prevalence among the induced pregnant women, than among the spontaneous ones, but the difference was not significant statistically. The induced pregnancies were not associated with a significantly higher rate of perinatal complications.

CONCLUSIONS

Induced pregnancy does not involve a higher risk of maternal complications. The incidence of premature newborns and intrauterine growth retardation was high in both subgroups, but without a statistically significant difference.