Globally, women are increasingly choosing to have children later in life. In Sweden, 4.8% of mothers were 40 or older in 2022. Prior studies indicate that older mothers often have higher BMIs, are more likely to use assisted reproductive technology, face a greater risk of pregnancy-related diseases, and have a higher rate of Caesarean sections. Researchers aimed to understand how maternal age impacts the health of newborns.

Increased risk of stillbirth

The study, published in Pedriatic Act, analyzed data from Sweden’s National Medical Birth Register, which includes all pregnancies from week 22 leading to childbirth, maintained by the Swedish National Board of health and Welfare. the study included 312,221 children born to women over 34 between 2010 and 2022, excluding twins. Researchers divided the babies into three groups based on maternal age: 35-39 years, 40-44 years, and 45 years and older, focusing on the health impacts on children born to mothers older than 39, using the 35-39 age group as a reference.

“First of all, we could see that for babies born in Sweden, serious complications are rare, irrespective of the mother’s age.”

Stillbirth, while uncommon in Sweden, occurred in