Advanced maternal age is associated with a greater number of obstetric complications and adverse perinatal outcomes. It is increasingly common to find pregnant women over 45 years of age and even over 50. There are few studies that evaluate perinatal outcomes at extreme ages, over 45 years of age. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore perinatal outcomes in the pregnancies of women over 45, as well as to compare twin and singleton pregnancies in this population.
An observational retrospective case–control study was carried in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of University Hospital La Paz (Madrid, Spain) between January 2017 and June 2023. All twin pregnancies of mother over 45 at the time of delivery as cases (n = 22) and 3 controls for each case (n = 65) were included. Perinatal outcomes were assessed and compared between singleton pregnancies and twins.
The frequency of preeclampsia was statistically higher in the twin group (27.3% vs 7.7%; p = 0.017) (OR 4.5 (1.21–16.65)). Cesarean section was significant more frequent in the twin group (90.9% vs 49.2%; p = 0.001) (OR 10.31 (2.23–47.75)). In twins, prematurity rate (68.2% vs 17.2%; p < 0.001) and admission to neonatal ICU (63.6% vs 14.5%; p < 0.001) were increased. No differences were found in gestational diabetes, pregnancy-induced hypertension, small for gestational age, Apgar test < 7 at 5 min or in the pH < 7.10 in cord blood at birth.
Advanced maternal age is an independent risk factor for adverse perinatal outcomes and obstetric complications, independently of the number of fetuses, especially at extreme fertile ages above 45 years. In the case of twin gestations, risks inherent to twins also increase, such as prematurity, admission to the NICU and CS.
Pelvic floor disorder is an issue that affects quality of life. Obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS) are related to vaginal parity and can lead to anal incontinence in 60% of women in the long term. Its identification is crucial to perform optimal surgical repair. The aim of the study was to describe obstetric trauma in our population and evolution in a 25-year period.
Observational retrospective study of woman who delivered in Hospital Parc Taulí between 1998 and 2021. Patients without vaginal delivery or delivery before 22nd gestational week were excluded. Data processing and analysis were performed using Excel.2016 and IBM SPSS Statistics 17.0.
Sixty thousand one hundred forty-five women who delivered in our hospital over the study period were included. Fifty thousand twenty-two (83.17%) had a vaginal delivery: 82.12% were eutocic and 17.22% operative assisted. Loco regional anaesthesia was performed in 81% and the overall episiotomy rate was 59.7%. OASIS were reported in 369 women, constituting 0.74% of all vaginal deliveries, the major part detected in Kjelland forceps deliveries (representing 46.8% of OASIS) and eutocic deliveries (41.5%). Analysing the evolution of OASIS, an important reduction from 2018 to 2021 was noticeable (1.1 vs. 0.6%) and also a statistically significant difference in OASIS rate between operative and eutocic deliveries (p < 0.05).
The study agrees with the literature on the predominance of OASIS in forceps deliveries. It evidences a decrease in operative vaginal deliveries parallel to a significant decline of OASIS since 2018, when vacuum deliveries increased in detriment of forceps. Establishment of regular training programs appear to increase OASIS detection.

