Is very advanced maternal age associated with increased prevalence of placenta previa?

very advanced maternal age and prevalence of placenta previa

Abstract

Background: Pregnancies of advanced maternal age have been increasing worldwide in recent years. Advanced maternal age pregnancies have adverse obstetric, perinatal, and neonatal outcomes. This study aims to investigate the frequency of placenta previa in pregnant women of very advanced maternal age and to examine the relationship between advanced maternal age and placenta previa using statistical methodologies.

Methods: This prospective study was conducted at the Sanliurfa Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital in Sanliurfa, Turkey and included 140 pregnant women aged 46 to 48 years who applied to the hospital between September 2018 and December 2019. Patients were divided into two groups according to the mode of delivery: (i) normal vaginal delivery (NVD) (n=99) and (ii) cesarean section (C-section) (n=41). Demographic characteristics, pregnancy outcomes, C-Section rates, preterm delivery rates, fetal growth restriction rate, neonatal outcomes, and C-Section indications were recorded.

Results: A significant difference was found in infant birth weight and the gestational week at delivery between the NVD and C-section groups (p<0.05 for both). According to the independent samples t-test, infant birth weight was significantly higher in the NVD group compared to the C-section group (p<0.05). Placenta previa was detected in 8 (19.5%) patients in the C-Section group.

Conclusion: The results indicate that placenta previa, which is one of the location anomalies of the placenta, is more common in pregnancies of very advanced maternal age than in pregnancies of normal reproductive age and that having a less fertile uterus at an older age can cause to adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Keywords: Advanced maternal age, Placenta previa, Normal vaginal delivery, Cesarean section