Childbirth care practices in public sector facilities in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A descriptive study

Objectivesto explore reported hospital policies and practices during normal childbirth in maternity wards in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to assess and verify whether these practices are evidence-based.Designquantitative design, in the form of a descriptive questionnaire, based on a tool extracted from the literature.Settingnine government hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. These hospitals have varied ownership, including Ministry of Health (MOH), military, teaching and other government hospitals.Participantskey individuals responsible for the day-to-day running of the maternity ward.Measurementsnine interviews using descriptive structured questionnaire were conducted. Data were analysed using SPSS for Windows (version 16.0).Findingsthe surveyed hospitals were found to be well equipped to deal with obstetric emergencies, and many follow evidence-based procedures. On average, the caesarean section rate was found to be 22.4%, but with considerable variances between hospitals. Some unnecessary procedures that are known to be ineffective or harmful and that are not recommended for routine use, including pubic shaving, enemas, episiotomy, electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) and intravenous (IV) infusion, were found to be frequently practiced. Only 22% of the hospitals sampled reported allowing a companion to attend labour and childbirth.Key conclusionsmany aspects of recommended EBP were used in the hospitals studied. However, the results of this study clearly indicate that there is wide variation between hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in some obstetric practices. Furthermore, the findings suggest that some practices at these hospitals are not supported by evidence as being beneficial for mothers or infants and are positively discouraged under international guidelines.Implications for practicethis study has specific implications for obstetricians, midwives and nurses working in maternity units. It gives an overview of current hospital policies and practices during normal childbirth. It is likely to contribute to improving the health and well-being of women, and have implications for service provision. It could also help in the development of technical information for policy-makers, and health care professionals for normal childbirth care.