Knowledge of Reproductive Age Women About Oral Contraceptive Pills in Al-Qunfudah, Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To study the knowledge of Saudi women regarding contraceptive use. Methodology: In Al-Qunfudah, Saudi Arabia, 1107 Saudi women aged 18 to 45 years old participated in a cross-sectional descriptive study utilizing a closed-question survey. Data were compiled using SPSS v 21 software. Results: The participants in our study were 1107 females between the ages of 18 and 45. The majority of them were married, educated, and had used or were using oral contraceptives (OC) (50.2%), mostly for family planning (81.1%). Fear of OC side effects was stated by 39.9% of women who had never used it as a reason for not using it, and some women were unsure about consequences, such as mood changes (20.2%) and headaches (28%); 44.7% of women did not believe that they needed OC. Many women were ignorant of OC's health and menstrual cycle benefits, with only 7.9% and 5.8% agreeing that it can help with premenstrual syndrome and acne problems, respectively. Majority of women said that they learned about contraception through doctors and friends/relatives, but 73.0% felt that the information available from health-care service was inadequate. Conclusion: The findings revealed that women in this region were lack awareness regarding contraceptive techniques, including OC, as well as its side effects and potential health hazards. It is necessary to strengthen family knowledge and how they can planning and contraception initiatives.

Placenta previa. A 13 years experience at a tertiary care center in Western Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: To review cases of placenta previa in the last 13 years in a tertiary teaching hospital to identify risk factors for maternal morbidity.  METHODS: A retrospective analysis of all cases of placenta previa managed at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH), Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from January 2001 to December 2013.    RESULTS: The total number of deliveries was 55,862 deliveries, and 11,412 (20.3%) delivered by cesarean section (C/S). The charts of 230 cases diagnosed with placenta previa was reviewed, and different variables were collected and analyzed. Diagnoses were achieved in 94% of them using ultrasound. The prevalence rate of placenta previa was 4.1 per 1000 births. Cesarean section was carried out as an emergency procedure in 130 (56.5%) women and as elective in 100 (43.5%) women. Of them, 26 patients were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) (11.3%), all of which received blood transfusion >6 units and 22 patients had a hysterectomy for uncontrollable bleeding.   CONCLUSION: Placenta previa is one of the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. Every hospital must have a protocol, or algorithm for the management of placenta previa. Risk factors for maternal morbidity included complete previa, history of previous C/S, emergency C/S at a gestational age of less than 36 weeks, and estimated blood loss more than 2000 ml.