There is a prevalent belief that women in their late thirties are at a greater risk of experiencing several complications during pregnancy compared to their younger counterparts. These complications may comprise miscarriage, gestational diabetes, preterm delivery, or pre-eclampsia, a critical condition that can cause a dangerous increase in blood pressure in women.

A study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology has found that the main cause of rising rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, preterm birth, and low birthweight, over the past decade is the health status of the individual before pregnancy rather than their age.

Despite an increase in the average age of pregnant individuals from 27.9 years in 2011 to 29.1 years in 2019, age was only found to contribute minimally to the significant increase in adverse pregnancy outcomes during the same period.

During the past decade, the rate of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including high blood pressure with or without preeclampsia or eclampsia, increased by over 50%. However, less than 2% of this change could be attributed to the shift in age distribution of individuals giving birth, which is the most striking finding of the study.

“Although mothers are getting older at the time they deliver, that is not what’s causing these adverse birth outcomes,” points out lead author Zachary Hughes. “What’s really driving it is pre-pregnancy health issues like diabetes and hypertension. That’s important to know because these are factors we could potentially modify.”

Researchers used data from the National Center for Health Statistics Natality Files to compare the rates of preeclampsia and eclampsia, preterm birth, and low birthweight between 3.9 million births in 2011 and 3.7 million births in 2019.

The results showed that preterm birth and low birthweight both went up by about 2% and 4%, respectively, while hypertensive disorders went up by 52%.

Using statistical tools to study the impact of age in these changes, researchers determined that the shift in age distribution accounted for a negligible amount of the rise across all outcomes evaluated.

When things go wrong during pregnancy, it can hurt both the mother and the baby’s health. For example, both the mother and the baby are more likely to get heart disease during pregnancy and later in life.

Preventing these unfavorable consequences, according to the researchers, might help lessen the burden of cardiovascular disease on people of all ages.

Hughes hoped that the results would spark a “culture change” that would encourage women to prioritize their health before becoming pregnant.

Many people don’t start seeing a doctor until they’re pregnant, but six months to a year before you start trying to get pregnant is the best time to make sure your health is as good as it can be and reduce the risk of bad things happening during your pregnancy.

This also shows that doctors and policymakers should pay more attention to a woman’s health before she gets pregnant and take care of things like high blood pressure and diabetes before she gets pregnant.

People in their late teens to early thirties were most likely to have a bad pregnancy outcome. This was true for all age groups.

Researchers stated the further investigation is required to identify whether particular health conditions—such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, or other factors—are causing these pregnancy difficulties in younger individuals.

Current medical recommendations advocate further screening and monitoring for pregnancies with expected delivery at age 35 or older since they are recognized as risk factors for unfavorable outcomes.

Based on the results of this new study, researchers stressed how important it is for doctors and people who are thinking about getting pregnant, especially younger people, to take care of other health problems to give the best chance of a healthy pregnancy and child.

Even if the illnesses go away after the baby is born, people who had gestational diabetes or high blood pressure during pregnancy should continue to record these diseases in their health history since they may raise the risk of heart disease in the future.

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