Awareness and practices of contraception among Pakistani women attending a tertiary care hospital.

Pakistan is one of the most populous nations in the world, with an annual growth rate of 2.8 and high total fertility rate, even among developing nations. The Pakistan Reproductive Health and Family Planning Survey highlighted the wide gap between knowledge (97%) and use of contraceptives (28%) among currently married women. Our actual need is to enhance contraceptive practice in our country. This study was designed to investigate contraceptive knowledge and practice in Pakistani women attending a tertiary care hospital. This questionnaire-based study was conducted at the Gynaecology Unit II of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Fatima Jinnah Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan. A total of 204 married women of reproductive age were interviewed by a registrar to record their age, occupation, educational status, number of children, knowledge about contraceptive methods, source of the knowledge, attitudes and practices of contraception. About 57% of women were between 26 and 35 years of age, while 52% of men were between 31 and 40 years. Educational status of the majority of females was below matriculation (33%), while 34% males were above matriculation; 88% of females were housewives and less than 1% of men were out of work. Regarding the social status of couples, 64% were living on income less than 5000 rupees /month (about 60 pound sterling). Of the women, 67% were para 2-5; 68% had some sort of awareness regarding contraception. The main source of information was television (26%) and relatives (24%). The majority knew about the pill (68%) and IUCD (55%). Only 47% were using some sort of contraception. The most common method chosen was the barrier method (15%), followed by IUCD (10%) and the pill (10%). The least common methods were sterilisation (2%) and the rhythm method (2%); 85% of the women and 74% of the men in the study group had a positive attitude toward contraception. In order to improve contraceptive use in Pakistan we need to use multiple media sources to educate couples and their parents regarding contraceptive services, strengthen the perceptions that religion not only allows but also recommends family planning and to create awareness among women to have their rights and opinions about the size of family. The concept of differentiation between sons and daughters should be discouraged. In addition government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should organise groups to provide counselling and promotion of contraceptive services at the doorstep. We must act as a team to control our growth rate for economic stabilisation of the country and to raise the living standards of our people.

Analysis of caesarean delivery at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan.

We conducted an analysis of caesarean sections (CS) in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan to determine the rate of CS, indications and outcome. This information will be useful to formulate strategies to control the rate of CS and its associated complications in our hospital. This was a descriptive study conducted at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit III, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore during a period of 6 months, from 1 September 2000 to 28 February 2001. A proforma was constructed to document the details of all caesarean sections during the study period. During the 6-month period, of a total of 1424 deliveries conducted in the unit, 300 women had CS. These caesarean deliveries were analysed for the present study. The rate of caesarean sections in the study group was 21.07%. Of 300 caesarean deliveries, 34 were elective (11.33%) and 266 were emergency caesarean sections (88.67%). The main indications for the emergency caesarean deliveries were dystocia (28.2%), fetal distress (22.18%), CPD (6.77%) and a previous one (5.64%) or two caesarean sections (7.52%), while the main indications in the elective caesarean deliveries were a previous two (50%) or three (2.94%) CS. One hundred and two (34%) women were primigravida, 152 (50.67%) were gravida 2-4 and 45 (15%) women were among gravida 5-9. The mean age of the study group was 29 years. There was one maternal death and overall maternal morbidity was 14%. The majority of women were hospitalised for 2-6 days. In the group of emergency caesarean sections, there were four stillbirths (1.5%) and seven perinatal deaths (2.63%). The overall perinatal mortality rate was 4% in the study group. High-risk pregnancies without antenatal care constitute a major reason for the increased rate of caesarean deliveries and its associated morbidity and mortality.