McMahon Catherine A, Gibson Frances L, Allen Jennifer L, Saunders Douglas
Psychology Department, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia.
Hum Reprod. 2007 Apr;22(4):1168-74. doi: 10.1093/humrep/del502. Epub 2007 Jan 12.
The trend to older maternal age at first birth is well established in Western countries and biological risk factors, particularly declining fertility, are well documented. Less is known, however, about the psychosocial well-being of older first time parents. This study explores differences in psychosocial adjustment during pregnancy in older (maternal age >or= 38 years) and younger (maternal age < 35 years) couples after assisted reproductive technology (ART) conception.
Questionnaire data were collected from a consecutive cohort of pregnant nulliparous women and their partners recruited over a 12-month period from ART clinics in Sydney, Australia.
There were more similarities than differences when comparing older and younger couples. Older couples took longer to conceive and were more likely to use donor eggs. Older pregnant women scored higher on a measure of psychological hardiness/resilience and reported a lower identification with motherhood compared with younger pregnant women. Older men differed only in reporting a less satisfying social orientation during pregnancy (lower satisfaction with sex life, relationship with partner and social life).
Findings do not indicate problematic adjustment during pregnancy in older couples, but differences found need further investigation using larger samples and prospective designs.
在西方国家，初育产妇年龄增大的趋势已得到充分证实，而且生物学风险因素，尤其是生育能力下降，也有详尽记录。然而，对于年龄较大的初为人父母者的心理社会幸福感，人们了解较少。本研究探讨了在辅助生殖技术（ART）受孕后，年龄较大（产妇年龄≥38岁）和年龄较小（产妇年龄＜35岁）的夫妇在孕期心理社会调适方面的差异。
通过问卷调查收集了连续队列中的未生育孕妇及其伴侣的数据，这些孕妇及其伴侣是在12个月期间从澳大利亚悉尼的ART诊所招募的。
比较年龄较大和年龄较小的夫妇时，相似之处多于差异。年龄较大的夫妇受孕所需时间更长，且更有可能使用捐赠卵子。与年轻孕妇相比，年龄较大的孕妇在心理韧性/复原力测量方面得分更高，且对母亲身份的认同感更低。年龄较大的男性仅在报告孕期社会取向满意度较低（对性生活、与伴侣的关系和社交生活满意度较低）方面存在差异。
研究结果并未表明年龄较大的夫妇在孕期存在调适问题，但所发现的差异需要使用更大样本和前瞻性设计进行进一步调查。
