In my nine years of practice, I observed a lot of older women have prolong labor and ended up having caesarean section. I think it is not just a physical condition that causes them to have long labor but I think psychological aspect plays a vital part of it. It seems that older women who are pregnant for the first time think that they will have a long labor and some think they will have caesarean section. It is already imprinted in their minds. I always tell those women to think and condition there minds that they will have a normal labor and delivery.

Scientists at Cambridge University have found that advancing age is associated with impaired uterine function, specifically a lesser degree of spontaneous contraction and a change in the type of contraction. This is thought to result in poor progression of labour and therefore increase the rate of caesarean section.