A pilot study exploring the impact of maternal age and raised body mass index on caesarean section rates

Summary

A 2-phase study assessing the impact of obesity and increasing maternal age on caesarean section rates was performed. Phase 1 was retrospective and involved comparing caesarean section rates in spontaneously labouring nullipara and spontaneously labouring nullipara weighing 60–80 kg and aged 20–35 (standard nullipara), delivering between 1992 and 2006. In the 15 years studied there was a rise in the caesarean section rate from 6.5% to 19.0%, although the increase was less marked in the standard nullipara (4.8–15.5%). Phase 2 was prospective and involved collecting delivery data of singleton cephalic nullipara spontaneously labouring at term. The data of 126 women was collected of whom 99 were non-obese and 27 were obese. Statistical analysis compared the delivery outcomes between the two groups and showed that obese women were 5.82 times more likely to have a caesarean section compared with non-obese women. This finding was highly statistically significant (p = 0.005).

Keywords:

• Caesarean section
• obesity
• maternal age