Obstetrical outcome with increasing maternal age.

A retrospective study of 21,442 Singaporean women who gave birth at the National University Hospital, Singapore, between January 1986 and November 1991 is used to assess the effects of increasing age on obstetric performance. The results show that reproduction after the age of 35 years in Singapore is associated with a higher incidence of antenatal complications such as hypertension and diabetes and a higher rate of obstetric intervention. However, given the current level of obstetric and neonatal care in Singapore, these adverse features do not prejudice the obstetric and neonatal outcomes.