ABU DHABI // The risk of complications from a late pregnancy should not dissuade women from trying to conceive, a leading gynaecologist has said.
Instead, it should motivate them to take preventive measures, said Dr Hind Al Shami, a gynaecologist at the Women's Health Institute at Al Ain Hospital and an author of a new study on the issue.
The research confirmed that women over 35 in the UAE are more likely than their younger counterparts to develop gestational diabetes and have heavier babies, as is the case worldwide. It coincides with a trend towards later marriage and motherhood, and a higher-than-average incidence of diabetes in the wider Emirati population.
Dr Al Shami said weekly pre-natal checkups were even more important in late pregnancies.
"This study gives us a deeper understanding of the situation in our country," she said. "It shouldn't discourage mothers from getting pregnant; on the contrary, it should encourage us to take the necessary precautions as doctors and patients."
The study looked at 888 women who delivered children between April and September 2009.
Women between the ages of 20 and 34 made up about three-quarters of the study, and women over 35 comprised the remaining quarter. A third of those surveyed were Emirati.
The study was carried out by the women's health department at Al Ain Hospital in collaboration with the faculty of medicine and health sciences at United Arab Emirates University, and the results were announced at the 3rd annual Seha research conference last week.
It found that 13 per cent of women in the younger age group developed gestational diabetes, compared with 29 per cent of women in the older age group. The average incidence among all mothers was 17 per cent, compared with between 2 and 10 per cent in the United States.
Dr Al Shami attributed the high rates to the general prevalence of diabetes in the country, affecting nearly 20 per cent of residents.
"Our sedentary lifestyles, including lack of exercise and the food we eat, play a role in all of this," she said. "And as a woman gets older, she is more likely to develop the disease. This is especially true if she has a history of diabetes in her family."
The study also found that later pregnancies were more likely to result in heavier babies. Almost one in every 19 women in the older age group delivered a baby weighing more than 4 kilograms, compared with one in every 58 in the younger group. This is usually a reflection of the mother's gestational diabetes in the child, Dr Al Shami said.
High levels of blood sugar in the mother can lead to high amounts of glucose in the child's blood stream. The baby's pancreas must then produce more insulin to process the excess glucose. As a result of all the high levels of blood sugar and insulin, the baby can put on extra weight. The child's excess weight is one of the complications that may then require specific delivery procedures, such as a Caesarean section.
This was also evident in the study, which showed that 26 per cent of women in the older age group had to deliver by C-section, compared with 18 per cent of their younger counterparts.
In addition, the chances of chromosomal abnormalities increase significantly after a woman is 37, said Dr Saad Ghazal Al Aswad, senior consultant at the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at Tawam Hospital. This could lead to genetic disorders such as Down syndrome.
"Chromosomes are more likely to stick together and do not separate as easily at a later age," he said. "This is particularly true here in the UAE, where there are many consanguineous marriages, and therefore genetic similarities, between couples."
Another potential complication of late-in-life pregnancies is a hole in the child's neural tube that connects the brain to the spinal cord, Dr Al Aswad said. "Neural fluid leaks from the tube, leading to developmental problems in children," he said. "This is known to happen as women start approaching their forties." He said folic acid should be given to pregnant women to prevent such defects,
Dr Al Shami estimated that late pregnancies account for nearly a third of all deliveries at the hospital, compared with just one out of 10 pregnancies two decades ago.
"Women have shifted their priorities. They want to finish their education and establish their careers before they think about having children," she said. "However parents among the local community still encourage their daughters to marry early."
Dr Soaad Al Oraimi, a professor of gender and development at United Arab Emirates University, said most Emirati parents still oppose the idea of late marriage and pregnancy. However, the younger generation has become obstinate.
"Personally, I would prefer that a woman completes her studies and finds a stable job before starting a family," she said. "But it could be years before this happens, and if all women do this it could pose a danger to the country."
According to the most recent figures from the World Health Organisation, the country's birth rate fell from 4.4 children per family in 1990 to 1.9 in 2009. The birth rate for Emirati women in the capital is higher than the countrywide level, at 3.36 children per family. This compares with 1.62 for expatriates in Abu Dhabi.
Studies have shown that the higher the level of education, the fewer children a woman is likely to have, Dr Al Oraimi said.
And in the UAE, where three times as many women as men pursue higher education and only 17 per cent of the population are Emirati, delayed pregnancy can pose a risk to the country's population.
"The more a woman delays her pregnancy, the more difficult it will be for her to conceive," Dr Al Oraimi said. "And in this manner, fertility rate is linked to birth rate. There should be an educational component in the school curriculum that educates young women about the population and how to balance their lives between career and family."
Women do not have to compromise career and education for family, she said. In order for this to happen, however, women will need flexible governmental and institutional support.
mismail@thenational.ae
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Director: Monika Mitchell
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last 16, second leg
Liverpool (0) v Atletico Madrid (1)
Venue: Anfield
Kick-off: Thursday, March 12, midnight
Live: On beIN Sports HD
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
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Abu Dhabi World Pro 2019 remaining schedule:
Wednesday April 24: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-6pm
Thursday April 25: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-5pm
Friday April 26: Finals, 3-6pm
Saturday April 27: Awards ceremony, 4pm and 8pm
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
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