Ukrainian Journa Health of Woman. 2025. 3(178): 46-52. doi: 10.15574/HW.2025.3(178).4652
Chernov А. V.
Shupyk National Healthcare University of Ukraine, Kyiv

For citation: Chernov АV. (2025). The course of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period in women of different ages giving birth for the first time. Ukrainian Journal Health of Woman. 3(178): 46-52. doi: 10.15574/HW.2025.3(178).4652
Article received: Apr 02, 2025. Accepted for publication: May 21, 2025.

Aim – to conduct a retrospective analysis of the course of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period in women of different age groups who are giving birth for the first time, to determine the impact of reproductive age on the incidence of obstetric complications.
Materials and methods. The course of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period was analyzed according to 154 birth histories of women giving birth for the first time, who were divided into groups according to age: I group of the study – 78 pregnant women aged 20-29 years, II group – 76 pregnant women aged 30-40 years. Obstetric complications during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period were studied.
Results. A significant complication during pregnancy in the II group of women was the threat of abortion (23.7%); gestational anemia (27.6%); the threat of premature birth (15.7%). Preeclampsia was diagnosed 1.9 times more often in the II group, the frequency of severe preeclampsia in this group – 3.9%. The course of pregnancy was complicated by placental insufficiency in 15.7% in the II group, premature rupture of the membranes occurred significantly more often (22.4%). In childbirth and the early postpartum period, women in the II group had to use the following operations significantly more often: the frequency of cesarean section in 27.6%; episiotomy and perineotomy – in 19.7%, amniotomy – in 11.8% of cases and manual separation of the placenta and afterbirth – in 9.2%.
Conclusions. Women giving birth for the first time after the age of 30 should be included in the high-risk group for the occurrence of preeclampsia, especially early forms and placental insufficiency; they require an individual approach to choosing a method of delivery, taking into account all risk factors.
The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration. The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the institution mentioned in the paper. The informed consent of the patient was obtained for conducting the studies.
No conflict of interests was declared by the authors.
Keywords: pregnancy, women giving birth for the first time, age of the pregnant woman, course of pregnancy, course of childbirth, postpartum period, complications of pregnancy and childbirth, cesarean section, postoperative period.

REFERENСЕS

1. Brownfoot F, Rolnik D. (2024). Prevention of preeclampsia. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 93: 102481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2024.102481; PMid:38373378

2. Chang K, Seow K, Chen K. (2023). Preeclampsia: Recent Advances in Predicting, Preventing, and Managing the Maternal and Fetal Life-Threatening Condition. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 20(4): 2994. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20042994; PMid:36833689 PMCid:PMC9962022

3. Dennehy N, Lees C. (2022). Preeclampsia: Maternal cardiovascular function and optimising outcomes. Early Hum Dev. 174: 105669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2022.105669; PMid:36183566

4. Dines V, Šuvakov S, Kattah A et al. (2023). Preeclampsia and the Kidney: Pathophysiology and Clinical Implications. Compr Physiol. 13(1): 4231-4267. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2040-4603.2023.tb00249.x; PMid:36715282

5. D'Souza R, Roberts J, Kingdom J. (2023). Cesarean section rates in advanced maternal age. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 35(2): 162-168.

6. Erez O, Romero R, Jung E et al. (2022). Preeclampsia and eclampsia: the conceptual evolution of a syndrome. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 226(2S): S786-S803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2021.12.001; PMid:35177220 PMCid:PMC8941666

7. Gracia V, Vargas C, Sánchez J, Collantes-Cubas J. (2023). Preeclampsia: Narrative review for clinical use. Heliyon. 9(3):e14187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14187; PMid:36923871 PMCid:PMC10009735

8. Gumusoğlu S, Chilukuri A, Santillan D, Santillan M, Stevens H. (2020). Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Prenatal Preeclampsia Exposure. Trends Neurosci. 43: 253-268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2020.02.003; PMid:32209456 PMCid:PMC7170230

9. Han C, Chen Y, Dong J. (2021). Prothrombotic state associated with preeclampsia. Curr Opin Hematol. 28: 323-330. https://doi.org/10.1097/MOH.0000000000000678; PMid:34267080 PMCid:PMC8373789

10. Ives C, Sinkey R, Rajapreyar I, Tita A, Oparil S. (2020). Preeclampsia-Pathophysiology and Clinical Presentations: JACC State-of-the-Art Review. J Am Coll Cardiol. 76(14): 1690-1702. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2020.08.014; PMid:33004135

11. Jung E, Romero R, Yeo L et al. (2022). The etiology of preeclampsia. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 226(2S): S844-S866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2021.11.1356; PMid:35177222 PMCid:PMC8988238

12. Khalil A, D'Souza R, Kulkarni A et al. (2020). Association between advanced maternal age and cesarean delivery. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 222(3): 284-285.

13. Masini G, Foo L, Tay J et al. (2021). Preeclampsia has two phenotypes which require different treatment strategies. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 226(2S): S1006-S1018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2020.10.052; PMid:34774281

14. Miller D, Motomura K, Galaz J et al. (2021). Cellular immune responses in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia. J Leukoc Biol. 111: 237-260. https://doi.org/10.1002/JLB.5RU1120-787RR; PMid:33847419 PMCid:PMC8511357

15. Mintser AP. (2018). Statisticheskie metodyi issledovaniya v klinicheskoy meditsine. Prakticheskaya meditsina. 3: 41-45.

16. Morais M, Morais-Almeida M, Silva M et al. (2021). The relationship between maternal age and adverse neonatal outcomes: a systematic review. J Perinat Med. 49(1): 15-23.

17. Nirupama R, Divyashree S, Janhavi P et al. (2020). Preeclampsia: Pathophysiology and Management. J Gynecol Obstet Hum Reprod. 50(2): 101975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogoh.2020.101975; PMid:33171282

18. Opichka M, Rappelt M, Gutterman D, Grobe J, Mcintosh JJ. (2021). Vascular Dysfunction in Preeclampsia. Cells. 10(11): 3055. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10113055; PMid:34831277 PMCid:PMC8616535

19. Overton E, Tobes D, Lee A. (2022). Preeclampsia diagnosis and management. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol. 36(1): 107-121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpa.2022.02.003; PMid:35659948

20. Poon LC, Son M, Zand M et al. (2022). Maternal age and adverse pregnancy outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open. 5(6): e2216515.

21. Roberts J. (2024). Preeclampsia epidemiology(ies) and pathophysiology(ies). Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 94: 102480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2024.102480; PMid:38490067

22. Roberts J, Rich-Edwards J, McElrath T, Garmire L, Myatt L. (2021). Subtypes of Preeclampsia: Recognition and Determining Clinical Usefulness. Hypertension. 77: 1430-1441. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.14781; PMid:33775113 PMCid:PMC8103569

23. Tamas P, Farkas B, Betlehem J. (2025). Practical Considerations Concerning Preeclampsia Subgroups. J Clin Med. 14(7): 2498. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14072498; PMid:40217948 PMCid:PMC11989745

24. Wang Y, Li B, Zhao Y. (2022). Inflammation in Preeclampsia: Genetic Biomarkers, Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Strategies. Front Immunol. 13: 883404. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.883404; PMid:35880174 PMCid:PMC9307876