Abstract
(1) Backgrounds and Objectives: with the rapid alteration in the socio-demographic pattern of the Saudi community, particularly the changes concerned with women’s education and work force, contraceptive use must be a fundamental aspect in the life of women in reproductive age. The present study aimed to identify the prevalence and correlates of contraceptive use among women attending primary health centers in Aljouf region, Saudi Arabia, and to determine the perceived barriers of stopping or not using contraceptive methods in this population. (2) Methods: a primary health center-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 369 women of reproductive age. Data collection was done by using structured questionnaires distributed during face to face interviews with the participants. Data were analyzed using the SPSS program, version 24. (3) Results: most of the participants (n = 166; 45%) were current contraceptive users and 32.2% (n = 119) reported previous use of contraceptive methods. Pills were the most frequently used method (n = 203; 71.2%) and intrauterine devices (IUDs) came next (n = 67; 23.5%) while surgery was the least common method among the respondents (n = 3; 1.1%). Logistic regression analysis showed that the significant predictors of contraceptive use were: age > 35 years (odds ratio (OR): 4.52; confidence interval (CI): 1.56–15.42), Children number ≥ 4 (odds ratio (OR): 1.41; confidence interval (CI): 1.06–1.92) and monthly income ≥ 5000 Saudi Riyal (RS) (odds ratio (OR): 2.29; confidence interval (CI): 1.24–8.27). The most perceived barriers towards contraceptive utilization were cultural, demographic, medical, administrative, and barriers related to the method itself. The least reported barriers were psychosocial and physical. (4) Conclusions: the present study showed a high prevalence of contraceptive use among Saudi women in Aljouf region, Saudi Arabia. The study recommended sustained efforts to increase population awareness of the importance of family planning. Policymakers should discover the barriers that prevent contraceptive utilization by women.
Highlights
Contraceptive use permits women in reproductive age to reach their desired number of children and plan the intervals between pregnancies [1]
The decision to use or not to use contraceptive methods is dependent mainly on numerous barriers that arise from administrative, cultural, cognitive, and psychosocial factors as well as physical barriers and barriers related to the method itself [15]
As regard barriers related to the method itself, 47.3% claimed the development of serious side effects while 45.8% said they seek to have more efficient contraceptive methods
Summary
Contraceptive use permits women in reproductive age to reach their desired number of children and plan the intervals between pregnancies [1]. The prevalence of contraceptive use is defined as “the percent of women of reproductive age who are utilizing (or whose sexual partner is utilizing) a contraceptive method at any particular point of time, almost always calculated for married women” [2]. The marked increase in contraceptive use in developing countries in the past few years has been correlated with a reduced percentage of unintended pregnancies and the reduction of maternal mortality by 40% [3]. In addition to the benefits to women, regulation of inter-pregnancy intervals will lead to better perinatal outcomes [3]. Women are the most encountered in these changes as most of them had attained high education and joined the workforce. There were changing behaviors and attitudes towards fertility with more couples adopting family planning [4]
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