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Background and objectives Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prominent cause of anovulation. Thus, this study aimed to compare the pregnancy rates of women with PCOS treated with letrozole (LE) or clomiphene citrate (CC) at King Abdulaziz University Hospital. Patients and methods A retrospective record review was conducted from April 2021 to August 2022 to review 1370 records of women with PCOS from January 2015 to December 2021. Sixty-one patients were included in this analysis. Chi-square tests and independent sample t-tests were used to analyze various associations. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results Letrozole was associated with a higher pregnancy rate (41.7%) than CC (32.0%). However, this relationship was not statistically significant (P = .619). Furthermore, patients treated with letrozole required fewer cycles to achieve pregnancy (two cycles compared to three cycles). The different age groups and body mass indexes did not affect the pregnancy rate in either group. Conclusion No significant difference was found between CC and LE in ovulation induction and outcome among PCOS patients. Studies with larger sample sizes and multiple centers should be conducted in Saudi Arabia to obtain more conclusive results, which will eventually lead to changes in guidelines for anovulation treatment in women with PCOS.
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Background Postpartum depression (PPD) is a form of depression that can occur after childbirth and is characterized by feelings of sadness. It is a common psychological problem that affects women and children. This study aimed to assess the association between PPD and risk factors, such as delivery mode, ABO blood group, and passive smoking in Saudi Arabia. Methods PPD was assessed in this cross-sectional using an Arabic version of the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale through an online questionnaire distributed to women in Saudi Arabia between January and March 2022. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results A total of 354 postpartum women completed the questionnaire within six weeks of giving birth. Their mean age and BMI were 30.1±6.78 years and 25.98±5.84 kg/m2, respectively. PPD occurred in 56.2% of the participants. Elective cesarean section and operative vaginal delivery were associated with the presence of PPD symptoms in 17.6% and 7% of the women, respectively. The majority of those with third and fourth degrees and those who had instrumental assisted delivery had postpartum depression and this was statistically significant (p=0.017). About 26.6% of the participants were exposed to passive smoking, and 21.9% of them developed PPD. However, it was not statistically significant. Moreover, women with PPD were more likely to have blood type O+, followed by A+. Demographic factors did not show a significant correlation with developing PPD except for age (p=0.01), those who developed PPD were much younger on average than those who did not develop PPD (29.28±6.61 years vs. 31.15±6.86 years). Conclusion A significant association was found between PPD and the type of delivery. The association between PPD and passive smoking, ABO blood groups was insignificant. However, women who developed PPD were younger on average than those who did not develop PPD.
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STUDY OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to find if there is an association between maternal height and mode of delivery, as well as an association between maternal height and baby's weight as a secondary outcome. METHOD: This retrospective record review was performed at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, including patients admitted between January 2016 to December 2017. All nulligravida with singleton term pregnancies who gave birth were included in this study. Pregnant women with planned elective cesarean section (CS) and incomplete records were excluded. The maternal demographic and clinical data (age, height, weight, hypertension, gestational diabetes (GDM), body mass index (BMI), smoking status, gestational age, regional analgesia during delivery, type of delivery, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), and episiotomy), neonatal birth weight, and Apgar score were obtained from KAUH computerized records. Our primary outcome was the mode of delivery. The secondary outcome was the classification of neonatal weight into small for gestational age (SGA), appropriate for gestational age (AGA), or large for gestational age (LGA). Maternal height was divided into seven groups. Descriptive statistics using mean and standard deviation were used for continuous variables. Frequencies and percentages were used for categorical variables. Student's t-test and chi-square tests were used to evaluate the differences between continuous and categorical variables. RESULT: A total of 1067 women were included in this study. Most were at 40 weeks of gestation age (14.9%) with a mean height of 156.4±6.2 cm. Of the total, 76.9% were spontaneous vaginal delivery without operative assistance, 15.9% were delivered via CS, and 7.2% delivered vaginally with the assistance of forceps or ventouse. The mean neonatal birth weight was 2994 ± 451 gms with most neonates (87.3%) having a birth weight between 2500 and 4000 gms. Most babies were of average weight for their gestational age at delivery. There was a significant negative association between maternal height with CS (p=0.017). Moreover, there was a correlation between maternal height and the baby's birth weight (p=0.01), and we found that for every 1 cm increase in women's height, the baby's weight increases by 12.8 gms. CONCLUSION: Our study didn't find an association between maternal height and vaginal delivery or operative vaginal delivery. However, there was an impact of maternal height on CS delivery. Therefore, we suggest screening for short maternal height as they have an increased risk of having an emergency CS. In our secondary outcome, we found a positive association between maternal height and baby's birth weight.
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OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among pregnant women living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and to assess associated risk factors. METHODS: The study, which was a cross-sectional design, was conducted under the supervision of King Abdulaziz University Hospital, a tertiary care center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in May and June of 2021. The sample consisted of 200 pregnant women who completed an online questionnaire that included sociodemographic variables, obstetric information, pregnancy-related depression, stress, and anxiety symptoms, which were evaluated using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS). RESULTS: DASS-21 scores indicated the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress were 37.5%, 54.0%, and 25.0%, respectively. The PASS revealed that 29.5% of participants had minimal anxiety symptoms, 44.5% had mild-to-moderate anxiety symptoms, and 26.0% had severe anxiety symptoms. The three psychological health conditions were significantly associated with family/husband support, history of caesarean section, parity, and abortion. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant women should be screened routinely for any psychological disturbances, and women who are at high risk for mental illness should receive proper psychological care. Pregnant women, their families, and members of society should receive health-related education in order to prevent prenatal psychological issues as much as possible.
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OBJECTIVES: To assess the awareness about and attitude towards the complications of Cesarean section in the antenatal and postnatal period among women in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2020 and September 2020, involving 507 women in the antenatal and postnatal period in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Data were obtained via online surveys. The questionnaire addressed the knowledge about short and long-term complications. Results: Most participants received a poor knowledge score for the awareness of Cesarean section complications (45.4%), and only 12.6% had good knowledge. Most participants were in the age group of 32-42 years. Most participants were university-educated and had an excellent socioeconomic status. A statistically significant relationship was detected between the age group and the participant's level of knowledge regarding Cesarean sections (P = 0.030) and between the level of knowledge and experiencing Cesarean delivery by maternal request (P = 0.029). CONCLUSION: The study concluded that pregnant women had poor awareness regarding the complications of Cesarean sections. Most participants had a negative attitude toward Cesarean deliveries and preferred vaginal delivery.
