Changes in characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of elderly puerpera in Wenzhou from 2015 to 2019
YE Aoshuang1, LIN Ying1, BAO Jiajia1, YANG Xinjun2
1. Department of Women’s Health, Wenzhou Maternal and Child Health Center, Wenzhou 325000, China; 2.Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Management, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China
YE Aoshuang,LIN Ying,BAO Jiajia, et al. Changes in characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of elderly puerpera in Wenzhou from 2015 to 2019[J]. JOURNAL OF WEZHOU MEDICAL UNIVERSITY, 2021, 51(4): 292-297.
Abstract:Objective: To analyze the pregnancy characteristics and adverse pregnancy outcomes in elderly pregnant women, and to provide scientific basis for improving the working method and management mode of maternal and child health care to ensure the safety of mothers and infants. Methods:Retrospective analysis was made of the data of pregnant women aged ≥20 years who gave birth in Wenzhou midwifery institutions from 2015 to 2019, based on the related information collected from the Information Management Platform of Wenzhou Maternal and Child Health Center, and they were divided as the senior-age group (aged ≥35 years) and the right-age group (aged 20-34 years). Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel χ2 test and crosstabs χ2 test was used to analyze the linear trend in the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes and differences in demographics and pregnancy complications/comorbidity. Results: A total of 536 456 women gave birth in Wenzhou between 2015 and 2019, of whom 56 637 (10.56%) were elderly and 8 787 (15.51%) were aged ≥40 years old, with a maximum age of 55 years. Between 2015 and 2019, the proportion of elderly pregnant women in Wenzhou showed an upward trend (χ2trend=1 225.00, P<0.001), and the proportion of elderly pregnant women in parity ≥2 showed an upward trend (χ2trend=21.64, P<0.001). The proportion of non-first births, non-births, caesarean sections, education of junior high school and below were all higher in the senior-age group than those in the right-age group (P<0.001 in all comparisons). The incidence of gestational complications (GDM, pre-eclampsia) and complications (postpartum haemorrhage, premature fetal membrane breakage) in both groups showed an annually increasing trend (P<0.01), but the incidence of preterm birth, macrosomia and low birth weight in the senior-age pregnant women did not show an annual increasing or decreasing trend (P>0.05). The incidence of pregnancy complications and adverse pregnancy outcomes in the senior-age pregnant women was higher than the right-age group in 2015-2019 (P<0.001). Conclusion: The incidence of gestational diabetes and premature fetal membrane break-up among elderly pregnant women increased significantly from 2015 to 2019, and the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes in elderly pregnant women was higher than the right-age pregnant women. Therefore, obstetric doctors and health workers in the Maternal and Child Health Center need to pay more attention to the elderly pregnant women.