title: Parity affects pregnancy outcomes in women 35 and older.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the study was to examine the impact of parity on pregnancy outcomes in women 35 years and older.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was a retrospective cohort of singleton pregnancies of women aged > or = 35 years old during the period 2004-2008. Women were divided in two groups: group 1 included primigravidas and group 2 those with at least one past labor. Epidemiological characteristics, obstetric and neonatal outcomes were analyzed using the t test and chi-square test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  816 out of 5834 (14%) cases involved women aging > or = 35 years, 234 (28.7%) of which were nulliparous and 582 (61.3%) multiparous. Rate of cesarean section was 2.4 fold higher for primigravidas (p < .0001). Fetal distress, prolonged labor and Neonate Intensive Care Unity (NICU) admission were also significantly higher in group 1.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adverse pregnancy outcomes were increased in primigravidas of 35 years and older compared to multigravidas of the same age.
authors.affiliation: 4th Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kalogiannidis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Margioula-Siarkou
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Petousis
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Masoura
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goutzioulis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Traianos
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Prapas
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Agorastos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005316:Fetal Distress / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008423:Maternal Age; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies