Objectives: To compare the neonatal and maternal morbidity data associated with induced or naturally conceived pregnancies of primiparous women aged 35 years and older.
Methods: We recruited primiparous women aged 35 years and older, who delivered between January 1995 and December 2000. The outcomes of the induced (n=62) and naturally conceived (n=132) pregnancies were compared. The Fisher exact test was used for univariate analysis in order to compare the delivery and pregnancy characteristics in the two groups.
Results: Cesarean section featured with a 0.76 times lower prevalence among the induced pregnant women, than among the spontaneous ones, but the difference was not significant statistically. The induced pregnancies were not associated with a significantly higher rate of perinatal complications.
Conclusions: Induced pregnancy does not involve a higher risk of maternal complications. The incidence of premature newborns and intrauterine growth retardation was high in both subgroups, but without a statistically significant difference.