Saudi Arabia's Maternal and Child Health Scenario Interpreted
Asharaf Abdul Salam1, Rajaram Subramanyan Potty2
1King Saud University Center for Population Studies, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. asalam@ksu.edu.sa.
Background:
Countries in the Arabian Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia, deserve special attention due to the scarcity of information researched and discussed on Maternal and Child Health (MCH). This report focuses on trends in women of reproductive age, children ever born, live births, child mortality, contraception, age at marriage, and fertility rates.
Method:
Data from various censuses conducted from 1992 to 2010 and demographic surveys conducted from 2000 to 2017 were used in this analysis.
Results And Discussion:
Over time period, the female population increased in Saudi Arabia. However, the proportion of children, ever-married women, children ever-born, and live births decreased as did child mortality. These changes in maternal and child health dimensions are owing to reforms in the health sector, including health infrastructure, in accordance with the achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Conclusions:
A comparatively higher quality of MCH was reported. However, demands and challenges of obstetric, gynecologic, and pediatric care are increasing, thus, strengthening and streamlining in accordance with fertility trends, marital patterns, and child health care is essential, for which primary data collection at regular intervals is a prerequisite.
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