Pregnancy Outcomes in Women of Advanced Maternal Age: A Retrospective Cohort Study from Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu

Abstract

The study dealt on pregnancy outcomes in women of advanced maternal age in Imo State University Teaching Hospital Orlu, Imo state. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The researchers developed three research questions with one formulated hypothesis to guide the study. From a target population of 520, a sample of 200 respondents formed the representative sample for the study and this sample was obtained using a simple random sampling technique. However, a well developed four point Likert scale structured questionnaire was validated by experts in measurement and evaluation and the supervisor who is also a research method expert. The records collected from the hospital was used to answer research question one, while the data collected from the questionnaire was analyzed using the mean score statistic, and the Pearson Product moment correlation method was employed to answer the null hypothesis. Results obtained from the analysis revealed that advanced maternal age pregnancy is one that concerns women of age 35 years and above, that many women postpone child bearing to pursue higher educational and other goals and hence become advanced in age by the time they get married and fecundity decreases at that advanced age of 40 years, and so on. Some recommendations were proffered, some of which are: women are advised to engaged in early childbearing at least from the age of 20 through 30 years to run away from fecundity decrease; as caesarean section is too costly, many young ladies should try to carry out early childbirth and later pursue their higher and professional careers; advanced age women who have stopped child bearing should be well informed through community programs of the dangers of mistaken pregnancies at advanced age and train them on the importance of using contraceptives.