Conclusion
We conclude that delaying the first pregnancy to 32 years and older may have a negative effect on women's childbirth experience, but only in cases of spontaneous vaginal birth. Even if women who are delivered by emergency cesarean section or instrumental vaginal delivery have a much more negative experience than after a spontaneous vaginal birth, older women seem to be better prepared to manage this experience than younger women. Whether primiparous women of advanced age would have a better experience after being informed about the possible risk of a prolonged labour needs further investigation.
Ethics Approval
The study was approved by the appropriate Regional Committees for Ethics in Medical Research and the Norwegian data Inspectorate (S-97045).