Complications During Childbirth

The reality of childbirth is not always as happy or miraculous as it may seem to the outside world. There are several complications that can come into play during labor and delivery. Maternal age plays a large role in the complications that occur during childbirth that could not only affect the mother, but can also affect the fetus. From the moment women become fertile after beginning menstruation to the time they reach menopause, they have the ability to become pregnant. This is a huge risk that contributes to labor and delivery complications because women at a very young age and woman at an older age can have more complications during delivery than those in the age range of 25-29. Through research and evidence based practice, it has become evident that maternal age does in fact have a huge impact when it comes to labor and delivery complications. Childbirth at a young age, under 19 years of age, can be associated with complications during labor and delivery. Teenage mother are still in the Identity vs. role confusion stage of their lives, in which they are not sure of who they are and who they can be. Additionally, they are unaware of the complications that can come with delivering a child at such a young age. According to Lisonkova (2017), maternal sepsis is the highest among morbid conditions and complications found among teen mothers. Some of the complications that lead to sepsis are chorioamnionitis, the inflammation of the fetal
membranes that surround the fetus and endometritis, the inflammation of the inner lining of the uterus. “The increase odds for both chorioamnionitis and endometritis can be due to an immature immune system of the young women that makes them more susceptible to uterine infection” (Cavazos-Rehg, 2015). Evidently, younger mothers are more prone to infection because of their immature immune system, when compared to someone at the age of 25. Additionally, according to Lisonkova (2017), “Severe maternal morbidity was significantly higher among teenage mothers than among those 25-29 year olds”. It is very unfortunate, that studies have found that younger mothers have higher morbidity rates due to these infections.

Annotated Bibliography

Cavazos-Rehg, P.
A. (2015). Maternal Age and Risk of Labor and Delivery Complications. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 19(6), pp. 1202-1211. doi:10.1007/s10995-014-1624-7

Hviid, M. (2017). Maternal age and child morbidity: A Danish national cohort study. PLOS ONE, 12(4), . doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0174770

Lisonkova, S. (2017). Maternal age and severe maternal morbidity: A population-based retrospective cohort study. PLOS MEDICINE, 14(5), p. e1002307.
doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002307