Table 2.

Table of included studies related to psychological outcomes of a late pregnancy.

Title	Authors	Sample	Research Design	Objective	Results
Associations between advanced maternal age and psychological distress in primiparous women from early pregnancy to 18 months postpartum	Aasheim, V. et al., 2012 [20]	n = 19,291 nulliparous women	National cohort study	Investigate if advanced maternal age at first birth increases the risk of psychological distress during pregnancy at 17 and 30 weeks of gestation and at 6 and 18 months after birth	Women of advanced age have slightly higher scores of psychological distress during pregnancy and the first 18 months of motherhood
The parenting of preschool children by older mothers in the United Kingdom	Barnes, J. et al., 2013 [21]	n = 24,610	The study makes use of data from two longitudinal studies	Investigate if maternal age is relevant to parenting behavior	Punitive strategies and conflicts with children are greater in younger mothers and tend to decrease as maternal age increases. Older mothers are more supportive and their closeness to their children is greater
Comparison of perception of pregnancy risk for nulliparous women of advanced maternal age and younger age	Bayrampour, H. et al., 2012 [22]	n = 159 nulliparous pregnant women (105 aged 20–29 years; 54 aged 35 years or older)	Comparative descriptive study	Compare risk perception in pregnant women ≥35 with that of younger women	Women in AMA had higher medical risk scores than younger women and perceived a higher pregnancy risk for both themselves and their fetuses than younger women, including those with low-risk pregnancies
Advanced maternal age and risk perception: a qualitative study	Bayrampour, H. et al., 2012 [23]	n = 15 primigravidae aged 35 and above	Qualitative/ descriptive	Analyze the perception of risk for pregnant women at an AMA	Pregnancy at age ≥35 within a healthy context was perceived as a low-risk pregnancy. In the presence of other risk factors, the risk associated with age was highlighted, and women were inclined to recognize their age as a risk factor
A preliminary study to assess the impact of maternal age on stress-related variables in healthy nulliparous women	García-Blanco, A. et al., 2017 [24]	n = 148 nulliparus pregnant women between 18 and 40 years old	Prospective cohort study	Assess the impact of maternal age on depression, parenting stress and social functioning	Depressive symptoms showed an increase starting from 35 years old at 38 weeks of gestation, and U-shaped relationship with a minimum age of around 30 years old and 3 months after birth. Social functioning improved moderately with age
Association of maternal age with child health: a Japanese longitudinal study	Kato, T. et al., 2017 [25]	n = 2001 = 47,715 babies n = 2010 = 38,554 babies	Longitudinal study	Estimate risks of unintentional injuries and hospital admissions at 18 and 66 months, according to maternal age	The risks of unintentional injuries and hospital admissions decreased in accordance with older maternal age in both 2001 and 2010 cohorts
Age at first birth, mode of conception and psychological well-being in pregnancy: findings from the parental age and transition to parenthood Australia (PATPA) study	McMahon C.A., et al., 2011 [26]	n = 297 women conceiving through ART assisted reproductive technology n = 295 across three age groups: younger, ≤20–30 years; middle, 31–36 years; older, ≥37 years	Prospective study	Examine relationships for maternal age at first birth, mode of conception and psychosocial well-being in pregnancy	Older maternal age was associated with lower depression and anxiety symptoms, lower maternal–fetal attachment, greater resilience, and lower ratings of control in the partner relationship at a univariate level. ART, but not older maternal age, was associated with greater P–F anxiety. Older women are more resilient and report that their partners are less controlling
Older maternal age and major depressive episodes in the first two years after birth: findings from the Parental Age and Transition to Parenthood Australia (PATPA) study	McMahon, C.A., et al., 2015 [27]	n = 592 women in the third trimester of pregnancy in three age groups (≤30 years; 31–36 years, ≥37 years); 434 (73%) completed all assessments at four months and two years after birth	Prospective study	To ascertain if clinically significant episodes of depression between four months and two years postpartum was more common among older first-time mothers; to examine risk factors linked to the episodes of depression with a later onset within the first year after giving birth, utilizing Belsky’s model for parenting determinants	Maternal age was not related to the prevalence or timing of major depression episodes. Depression symptoms, poor child health, low practical support at four months and non-English language background predicted episodes of depression between four months and two years
First-time mothers’ pregnancy and birth experiences vary by age	Zasloff, E. et al., 2007 [28]	n = 1302 primiparous women	Longitudinal cohort study	Provide a comprehensive picture of the young to the old first-time mother as she presents to the clinician in terms of background, expectations, experiences and outcome of labor	Young women aged 15–20 years had the most negative expectations of the upcoming birth. The oldest women (35–43 years) did not have negative feelings about the upcoming birth during pregnancy and did not remember being afraid
Associations between older maternal age, use of sanctions, and children’s socio-emotional development at 7, 11, and 15 years	Trillingsgaard, T. et al., 2018 [29]	n = 4741 mothers		Analyze if older maternal age is associated with less sanctions and with positive child outcome at ages 7, 11, and 15	Older maternal age was associated with less frequent use of verbal and physical sanctions towards children at ages 7 and 11. At age 15, the association remained significant for verbal but not physical sanctions. Older maternal age was associated with fewer behavioral, social, and emotional difficulties in children at age 7 and age 11 but not at age 15
Advantages of later motherhood	Myrskylä, M. et al., 2013 [30]	Review	Comprehensive review of the existing literature	Summarize the literature on the benefits of advanced maternal age	Children who are born to older mothers tend to have higher cognitive scores than those with younger parents. Older maternal age is often associated with socioeconomic resources that may help to alleviate the stress of caring for a child
“Doing it properly”: the experience of first mothering over 35 years	Carolan, M. 2005 [31]	n = 22 primiparous women aged from 35 to 48 years over three junctures: at 35–38 weeks gestation, 10–14 days postpartum, and 8 months postpartum	Longitudinal, qualitative study	Exploring participants ‘ experiences of childbirth and early parenting	Women worry about risks associated with age and about the lack of information about it. They have difficulties adjusting throughout the postpartum period
Late motherhood: the experience of parturition for first-time mothers aged over 35 years	Carolan, M 2003 [32].	n = 20 primiparae aged >35 over three junctures: 35–38 weeks gestation; 7–10 days postpartum; and 6–8 months postpartum	Longitudinal, qualitative study	To explore the participants’ experience of birth and early parenting	Women feel more prepared and more responsible. However, they expressed concern about their career and the need for more information during perinatality. They also felt discriminated because of their late pregnancy
The project: having a baby over 35 years	Carolan, M. 2007 [33]	n = 22 women aged >35	Longitudinal, qualitative study	To evaluate the experiences of a group of first-time mothers aged more than 35 years.	The results showed that some mums viewed having children as a significant life project. Data analysis showed that the project moved through distinct phases, including gathering information, planning, and completing chores before the birth (cleaning the deck)
The health and development of children born to older mothers in the United Kingdom: observational study using longitudinal cohort data	Sutcliffe, A.G. et al., 2012 [34]	n = 31,257 children aged 9 months n = 24,781 children aged 3 years n = 22,504 children age 5 years.	Observational study of longitudinal cohorts	Assess relationships between children’s health, development and maternal age	The risk of children having unintentional injuries requiring medical attention or hospital both decreased as maternal age increased. Language development, fewer social and emotional difficulties were associated with improvements in increasing maternal age. The children of teenage mothers had more difficulties than children of mothers aged 40.