A diagnostic study of pregnancy experiences of married women in Iraq.

A pilot survey was recently undertaken among 301 married women below 50 years of age and having been pregnant at least once. These women lived in a rural environment: the first group in a peri-urban area which is developing rapidly, and the second in a traditional rural area. The survey elicited information on various aspects of the 1,476 pregnancies reported by the women in the sample, including infant mortality, complications in pregnancy, abortions, as well as the number of medical consultations. Data show that mother and child health services, on the whole, are not fully appreciated by mothers, who only visit the clinic when they have a problem. It is evident that health care is equated with curative treatment and that the positive dimensions of prevention and health maintenance are not properly perceived. The fact that in the more conservative areas 98.1% of births take place at home shows the existence of a traditional health system which is not sufficiently taken into account by health planners. In fact, local birth attendants and midwives represent for the health services untapped manpower which, if adequately trained, could help to eliminate the risks currently associated with home births.

PIP: A pilot study was undertaken to gather data on the pregnancy experiences of rural women in Iraq and the extent to which they utilize the available services. The following questions were studied: 1) total number of pregnancies and live births, pregnancy wastage and mortality experience among the live born; 2) complaints and complications as perceived by the mothers during antenatal, natal and postnatal phases with reference to the last pregnancy; and 3) extent of utilization of maternal care services locally available. The study was conducted in 4 villages of the Basrah governorate and 2 villages of the Thiquar governorate in Iraq. The number of persons interviewed reached 178 in the Abu-al-Khasib villages and 123 in Thiquar. Nearly 2/3 of the women interviewed belonged to the age groups 20-34 years, the median age being 29.5 for the Abu-al-Khasib and 29.8 for the Thiquar women. The average parity was 4.7 in Abu-al-Khasib and 4.0 in Thiquar. The pregnancy wastage was higher in Thiquar (98/1000) than in Abu-al-Khasib (89/1000). The rate of pregnancy wastage due to abortion was 80 in Abu-al-Khasib and 67 in Thiquar. The wastage due to stillbirths was 31 in Thiquar and 9 in Abu-al-Khasib. These rates were observed among women of both low and high parity. Infant mortality rates reached 89/1000 live births in Thiquar and 42/1000 live births in Abu-al-Khasib. 10.3% of the children in Thiquar and 5.7% of the children in Abu-al-Khasib die before they reach age 5. Nearly half the women in Abu-al-Khasib reported health problems during pregnancy in contrast to 1/6 of the Thiquar women. Complications during delivery were attributable to prolonged labor, abnormal presentation and bleedings, whereas during the puerperium these were due to infection, bleeding and anemia. More than half of the women in the Abu-al-Khasib sample had availed themselves of medical care during their last pregnancy as compared to a little over 2/5 of the Thiquar sample. In Abu-al-Khasib, 3/5 of the women sought medical care because of complications or complaints during pregnancy and only 1/4 came for routine check-ups. Nearly 93% of the women who used medical care in Thiquar did so for complications and for complaints. The reason for not using medical care was stated as due to "the absence of any disease" by 3/4 of the mothers and to "pressure of work," "distance," and "lack of awareness about the need for such care" by 1/4.