RESUMO
BACKGROUNDS: Enhancing maternal health quality is a concern among researchers globally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one factor in women's health and empowerment is the rate of use of various contraceptive techniques. The WHO defines unmet contraceptive need as the discrepancy between a woman's desire to delay or cease childbearing and lack of contraception use to achieve this goal. Our study was designed to measure the unmet need for family planning and contraceptive use among married Saudi women attending primary healthcare centers in Alahsa, Saudi Arabia. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was carried out using multistage cluster stratified sampling. The study included all married Saudi women aged 18-49 attending primary health centers. A structured questionnaire from the United States Agency for International Development Demographic and Health Surveys Methodology was used. Data analysis was performed using the statistical software IBM SPSS version 29 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). RESULTS: In all, 430 individuals were included. The participants' ages ranged from 19 to 49 years (33.4 ± 7 years). Among them, 50 (11.6%) were pregnant. Among those who were not pregnant, 268 (62.3%) were using a method of contraception. Based on the definitions adopted in this study, 90 (20.9%) had unmet needs for family planning, and 340 (79.1%) had their needs met. The total demand for family planning was estimated to be 83.2%. The percentage of demand for family planning satisfied by a modern contraceptive method was 46.9%. CONCLUSION: Although Alahsa has a lower unmet need rate (20%) than other cities in Saudi Arabia, it remains notably higher than the average rate in Northern African and Western Asian countries, which is 10.9%. A number of factors, including nulliparity and having more than two children, were associated with unmet contraceptive needs. The majority of women who did not use contraceptives had concerns about the side effects and inconvenience of use.
RESUMO
Background Pregnant women go through physiological as well as psychological changes during pregnancy. Antenatal anxiety disorders are common, with proven adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. Anxiety increases the risks for prematurity and neurodevelopmental disorders. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of pregnancy-related anxiety and the impact of social media among pregnant women in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. Materials and methods This observational cross-sectional study included pregnant women who were attending antenatal care (ANC) in primary healthcare centers between May and October of 2021 in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. For data collection, a structured self-administered questionnaire was distributed randomly to eligible pregnant women. The presence of pregnancy-related anxiety was assessed by using the 10-item Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire-Revised (PRAQ-R), Arabic version. The impact of social media was measured through Social Media Engagement Questionnaire (SMEQ). Results Out of 823 pregnant women, 382 were eligible. Their mean age was 26.1 ± 10.9 years. Most of them (70.4%) had adhered to ANC. However, 32.1% had a history of miscarriage, and 6.7% had previous birth with congenital anomalies. The mean scores of pregnancy-related anxiety domains were 10.6 out of 15 for fear of giving birth, 8.7 for concern of own appearance, and 6.4 out of 12 for worries about bearing a handicapped child. More than half of the participants scored 28 out of 50 for pregnancy-related anxiety. The factors that were significantly associated with pregnancy-related anxiety were healthcare workers, first trimester, and unplanned pregnancy (P < 0.05). Social media engagement showed no correlation with anxiety. Conclusions The pregnancy-related anxiety level was average among pregnant women in Al-Ahsa, and fear of giving birth was the most common reason. Its predictors included early pregnancy, being a healthcare provider, and unplanned pregnancy. Pregnancy-related anxiety should be diagnosed early during routine ANC for better maternal and fetal outcomes.
