Summary

Summary

Objective. To assess the association between maternal age and cesarean section.

Methodology. We studied 848 delivery records from the Hospital Universitário Pedro Ernesto (Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro). The inclusion criteria were delivering na alive baby weighting at least 1000 g. The study factor was the maternal age, treated as continuous and classified in three groups: adolescence (<20 years), reference (20-34 years, adults) and late pregnancy (>34 years); the cesarean section was the outcome.

Results. There was a significant difference in maternal age between the two groups: vaginal delivery (25.5 years) and cesarean section (28.5 years, p<0.001). The occurence of cesarean in the age groups were statistically different: 14.9% in adolescence, 32.3% in adults and 44.1% in late pregnancy. The reference group was the adult. The relative risk for cesarean section was 0.46 (CI 0.33-0.65) in adolescence and 1.36 (CI 1.09-1.71) in late pregnancy.

Conclusions. The adolescence reduces the risk for cesarean section (protection) and the late pregnancy increases it (risk factor).