DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2016.v04i11.032

Pages: 4017-4022

The objective of this study is to evaluate the associations between maternal age and neonatal outcome in primiparous women with emphasis on teenagers and older women. A prospective observational study is conducted at Guwahati Medical College and Hospital. Primiparous women with singleton births from June 2015 to July 2016 (N=500) were divided into five age groups, 17–19 years and an additional four 5-year classes. The reference group consisted of the women aged 25–29 years. The teenagers showed increased risk of low APGAR score and small for gestational age as compared to the reference (25-29 years) group. Women with advancing age (≥35 years) revealed significantly increased risk of fetal distress and large for gestational age compared with the reference group. Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) and stillbirth were found to be highest in the reference group. An analysis of perinatal outcomes in relation to maternal age in the Indian population will provide important knowledge that may be used to further improve social, antenatal, obstetric and neonatal care and reveals risk groups that in particular may need more attention in antenatal care.