Abstract
The postponement of the fertility of women to higher ages is reflected in increased health risks that may pose a threat to both the mother and the new-born child. The aim of the article is to assess the impact of the age of women at childbirth on the health of the child and the risk of the occurrence of complications during hospitalisation following the delivery.
We assume that the health of new-born children can be determined from the course of the hospitalisation. Complications during the hospitalisation of the child or longer hospitalisation periods may be related to the increased need for health care as a result of a weakened state of health following the delivery.
The analysis makes use of individual anonymised data obtained from the General Health Insurance Company of the Czech Republic (GHIC CZ) on reported health care for children born in 2014. Using the descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression methods we identify the influence of the mother's age on the incidence of complications with new-born children so as to control other influences that are closely associated with such complications.
The results revealed that the advancing age of the mother is related to an increase in the chances of complications during the hospitalisation of the new-born child.