NIH Radio
Older Mothers More Likely to Deliver by Caesarean
Brief Description:
Older mothers with normal pregnancies are more likely to undergo Caesarean delivery than younger women with similar low-risk pregnancies.
Transcript:
Akinso: Older mothers with normal pregnancies are more likely to undergo Caesarean delivery than younger women with similar low-risk pregnancies according to a study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Researchers examined birth certificates from 8 million U.S. births, between 1995 and 2000. Dr. Rosalind King, Health Scientist Administrator for the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch at the NICHD said because the researchers were limited solely to information from birth certificates, they were unable to figure out why older mothers were more likely to undergo cesarean delivery.
King: We still don't know why people are having cesarean deliveries. This is really pushing the data pretty far. And it's still not giving us a reason. So research that gets at the decision making process that goes on between patients and their doctors is needed. And it's something that you can't get out of vital statistics. It requires new and different methods of data collections and analysis.
Akinso: The researchers found that, regardless of their age, women giving birth for the first time were six times more likely to deliver by caesarean, even when pregnancies were low risk. Dr. King said that birth certificates now in use will determine if other methods of delivery were attempted before Caesarean delivery. She added that this new information might provide insight into why the Caesarean delivery rate is higher among older mothers. This is Wally Akinso at the National Institutes of Health Bethesda Maryland.
About This Audio Report
Date: 3/23/2007
Reporter: Wally Akinso
Sound Bite: Dr. Rosalind King
Topic: Childbirth
Institute(s): NICHD
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