Risk of preemies and stillbirths increases by 20 percent among women older than 30 years of age, a latest study states.
Researchers at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, studied the data collected from around one million first-time mothers in Sweden and Norway.
The results of pregnancy in first-time mothers aged 30 were compared with women aged between 25 and 29. They found that mothers in the 30-34 age group had increased chances of preterm births or stillbirths.
"We were surprised that the risk for certain outcomes increased at such a relatively early age. For women individually, the risk is small, but for society at large there will be a significant number of 'unnecessary' complications with so many women having children just after 30," said Ulla Waldenström, professor at the Department of Women's and Children's Health at Karolinska Institute.
Previous studies have shown a link between pregnancy after 30 years of age and miscarriage. They state that miscarriage rates increased by 11.7 percent in over 30s compared to women who gave birth between the ages 25 and 29.
But some US studies show that pregnancies after 30 are no threat to either mothers or babies. The American Society of Reproductive Medicine reported that approximately 1 in 5 American women have their first child after the age of 30. Medical experts have not issued any warnings that discourage having a baby after 30, nor is it implied, Yahoo reported.
"It would therefore be advisable to inform both women and men, even at schools, of how important age is to child birth," Waldenström said.
