Are Married and Unmarried People Differ in their Perception and Attitude about Family Functioning and Wellbeing in Selected Governorates in Yemen?

Globally, there is a scale of views about family functioning and wellbeing with a great deal of conflicting evidence. In Yemen, conservative social traditions are the norms. Yemen has one of the highest population growth rate and the highest rate of unmet need for FP in the world. This study aimed to explore the perception and attitude about family functioning and attitude among married and unmarried people in selected Yemeni Governorates. The study was conducted in April–May 2014 through house to house community-based cross-sectional survey with a purposively selected sample in 21 districts in 3 Yemeni governorates. The target population was Yemeni citizens aged 15+ years present in households in the targeted districts at the time of data collection. Married and un married respondents were approached equally with a pre-tested questionnaire and only consented respondents were enrolled. Analysis was done using the statistical package for Social Sciences version 22. Differences between married and unmarried respondents was tested by Chi squared test (χ²). Statistical significance was set at p˂0.05. The study involved 2217 respondents. Married and unmarried respondents were not different in their perception and attitude regarding family size, the negative influence of large family size, the relation of family size to children education and age at marriage, and some economic aspects in relation to large family size. However, they differently perceive the meaning of the family; reasons for establishing not different the family and for having children; decision makers for continuation of children education; reasons for postponing marriage, the influence of having too male children on increasing family income and on boosting father’s prestige amongst others. In conclusion; married and unmarried were not different in most of the addressed issues. The few differently perceived issues reflect differences in life experience, reality and social responsibilities. There is a need for further studies to monitor practices related to demographic changes over time in the Yemeni society.

Caesarean section in Mukalla MCH hospital in Yemen

Increasing cesarean section rates are a major public health concern and the prevention of the first caesarean section, which often leads to repeat operations, is an important issue. Analyzing caesarean sections can help to identify factors associated with variations in caesarean section rates and help to assess quality of obstetrical care. To determine the rate of caesarean section in Mukalla MCH hospital and to evaluate its indications and out come. Retrospective analytical observational study. Obstetrics and Gynecology department of Mukalla MCH hospital. January 1[st] 2005-December 31[st] 2005. Four hundred and ninety six women who underwent caesarean section during the study period. A Performa was constructed to document the details of caesarean sections during the study period. Data entry and analysis was done by using SPSS v11 software computer program. During the study period, of a total 4128 delivery conducted in the department, 496 women had caesarean section. The rote of caesarean section was 12%. Of the 496 caesarean deliveries 364 were emergency [73.4%] and 132 were elective [26.6%]. The main indications in the emergency caesarean sections were cervical dystocia [18.7%], second stage arrest [17.9%], obstructed labour [15.6%] and fetal distress [12.6%]. Emergency section was done due to rupture uterus in 2[0.4%] cases. The main indications in the elective caesarean sections were previous two [27.2%] or three [12.5%] caesarean sections. One hundred seventy four [35.3%] women were primigravida [31.5% sections were emergency], 199 [40.1%] women were gravida 2-4 and 96 [19.3%] women were among gravida 5-9. The mean age of the study group was 27 years. There were no maternal deaths and overall maternal morbidity was about 9.4%. In the group of emergency caesarean section, there were 11 stillbirths [3.4%] while in the elective caesarean section group there was only two [1.6%] recorded stillbirth infant. The rate of caesarean section in Mukalla MCH hospital is within the suggested rate of WHO [5-15%]. The highest rate was seen among primigravida, increasing the risk of repeated caesarean sections in the following pregnancy