Age of primiparous women in the years 1998 to 2025 –⁠ diverging trends in a regional maternity unit between the majority population and the Romani ethnic minority

Czech version

Authors: J. Okály ^1,2; I. Holmerová ¹
Authors‘ workplace: Centrum pro studium dlouhověkosti a dlouhodobé péče, Fakulta humanitních studií, Univerzita Karlova, Praha ¹; Nemocnica s poliklinikou Spišská Nová Ves, a. s., Slovensko ²
Published in: Ceska Gynekol 2026; 91(5): 370-375
Category: Original Article
doi: https://doi.org/10.48095/cccg2026370

Overview

Objective: To analyze trends in the age of primiparous women in a regional hospital from 1998 to 2025, with particular attention to differences between the majority population and the Romani minority population, thereby enabling more personalized healthcare.

Materials and methods:: We retrospectively analyzed anonymized data on all primiparous women hospitalized between 1998 and 2025 (total of 11,240 women; majority population = 7,400 women; Romani minority population = 3,840 women). For context, 31,805 total births were recorded during the study period. We assessed mean age (standard deviation), median, range, and annual proportions of selected age categories.

Results: In the majority population, mean age at first birth increased from 23.5 (3.5) years in 1998 to 29.0 (4.9) years in 2025; the proportion of first births at 30 years or older rose from 6.4% to 36.5%. In the Romani minority population, the change was minimal from 18.7 (2.3) to 19.4 (3.0) years; the proportion of births under 20 years slightly decreased from 73.8% to 62.0%. The share of Romani minority primiparas among all primiparas increased from 18.1% to 43.6%, widening the mean age gap between groups from 4.9 to 9.6 years.

Conclusion: Data suggest two parallel reproductive trajectories: delayed childbearing in the majority population and persistent early motherhood in Romani communities. Clinical practice requires differentiated approaches to heterogeneous groups of patients in order to provide personalized healthcare and preventive care, with the aim of minimizing the impact of social factors on medical indicators of pregnancy.

Keywords:

Romani people – parity – maternal age – pregnancy in adolescence – reproductive behavior – health status disparities – longevity

Sources

1. Frejka T, Sardon JP. First birth trends in developed countries: persisting parenthood postponement. Demogr Res 2006; 15 (6): 147–180. doi: 10.4054/DemRes.2006.15.6.

2. Fuentes A, Jesam C, Devoto L et al. Association between motherhood postponement and socioeconomic status. Rev Med Chil 2010; 138 (10): 1240–1245.

3. Blomberg M, Birch Tyrberg R, Kjølhede P. Impact of maternal age on obstetric and neonatal outcome with emphasis on primiparous adolescents and older women: a Swedish Medical Birth Register Study. BMJ Open 2014; 4 (11): e005840. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005840.

4. Carolan M. The graying of the obstetric population: implications for the older mother. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 2003; 32 (1): 19–27. doi: 10.1177/0884217502239797.

5. Delbaere I, Verstraelen H, Goetgeluk S et al. Pregnancy outcome in primiparae of advanced maternal age. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2007; 135 (1): 41–46. doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2006.10.030.

6. Schildberger B, Linzner D, Hehenberger L et al. Influence of maternal age on selected obstetric parameters. Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd 2019; 79 (11): 1208–1215. doi: 10.1055/a-0859-0826.

7. Gibbs CM, Wendt A, Peters S et al. The impact of early age at first childbirth on maternal and infant health. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 2012; 26 (Suppl 1): 259–284. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3016.2012.01290.x.

8. Pirkle CM, de Albuquerque Sousa AC, Alvarado B et al. Early maternal age at first birth is associated with chronic diseases and poor physical performance in older age: cross-sectional analysis from the International Mobility in Aging Study. BMC Public Health 2014; 14 : 293. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-293.

9. Bobak M, Dejmek J, Solansky I et al. Unfavourable birth outcomes of the Roma women in the Czech Republic and the potential explanations: a population-based study. BMC Public Health 2005; 5 : 106. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-5-106.

10. Diabelková J, Rimárová K, Urdzík P et al. Risk factors of preterm birth and low birth weight neonates among Roma and non-Roma mothers. Cent Eur J Public Health 2018; 26 (Suppl): S25–S31. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a5273.

11. Gamella JF. Marriage, gender and transnational migrations in fertility transitions of Romanian Roma women: An ethnographic case study. Intersections EEJSP 2018; 4 (2): 57–85. doi: 10.17356/ieejsp.v4i2.389.

12. Malin M, Gissler M. Maternal care and birth outcomes among ethnic minority women in Finland. BMC Public Health 2009; 9 : 84. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-9-84.

13. Szabó L, Kiss I, Šprocha B et al. Fertility of Roma minorities in Central and Eastern Europe. Comp Popul Stud 2021; 46 : 387–424. doi: 10.12765/CPoS-2021-14.

14. Szabó L, Veroszta Z. Discrimination against Roma women during childbirth? Unraveling the underlying effects of ethnic and socio-economic factors. Sex Reprod Health 2024; 41 : 101013. doi: 10.1016/j.srhc.2024.101013.

15. Šegregur J, Šegregur D. Antenatal characteristics of Roma female population in Virovitica-Podravina County, Croatia. Zdr Varst 2017; 56 (1): 47–54. doi: 10.1515/sjph-2017-0007.

16. Šupínová M, Sonkolyová G, Klement C. Reproductive health of Roma women in Slovakia. Cent Eur J Public Health 2020; 28 (2): 143–148. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a5817.

17. Ústav zdravotnických informací a statistiky ČR. Rodička a novorozenec 2023. 2025 [online]. Available from: https: //www.uzis.cz/res/f/008461/rodnov2023.pdf.