Dystocia increases with advancing maternal age

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of maternal age on obstetric indices of uterine efficiency in spontaneous nulliparous labor managed according to a standardized protocol in order to determine whether increasing maternal age is more commonly associated with dystocia. Information was collected prospectively and retrieved retrospectively from an obstetric database for a 5-year period on a consecutive series of nulliparas in spontaneous term (≥37 weeks' gestation) labor with singleton cephalic presentations. All women were managed according to an established Active Management protocol. Indices for dystocia, including need for oxytocin augmentation, prolonged labor (>12 hr), instrumental delivery, and cesarean section were compared between 5 maternal age categories (