Introduction: The trend of postponing motherhood to later years has been in economically well-off societies for several decades. As a result, interest began to be aroused in how the advanced age of the mother affects pregnancy, childbirth, the child and woman. Therefore, it is important to make women aware of the impact of age on their fertility. Purpose: The purpose of the diploma is to study, how age affects a woman's fertility or infertility. Also, how maternal age affects the way of conception and pregnancy and what consequences it has on the unborn child. Methods: A descriptive method of work was used in the diploma work. Data collection was carried out by examination and critical selection of professional literature. We reviewed Slovenian and foreign databases named DiKUL, COBISS, PubMed, Science Direct, Springer Link, CINAHL and Cochrane. The literature was searched in Slovenian and English languages, within a time frame from 2004 to 2021 Results: The analysis of the six included studies showed that age negatively affects a woman's fertility. With age, the chance of spontaneous conception decreases and biomedically assisted fertilization is less successful. Older age also carries a higher risk of chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus and miscarriage, affects the outcome of pregnancy and childbirth, and the course of the postpartum period. Discussion and conclusion: Due to the trend of increasing maternal age at first pregnancy, healthcare professionals need to be aware that a woman’s age is the best indicator of reproductive potential. Experts should place greater emphasis on prevention and educating women about the impact of age on fertility and provide couples with evidence-based information, that would empower them, to take the initiative about their decisions and chances of conceving.
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