Paper
Thursday, July 12, 2007
The Health of Childbearing Women in Qatar: Issues, Impact, and Implications for Quality Prenatal Education Programs
Dora Maria Carbonu, RN, MN, EdD, Emergency Medical Services Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar and Sharifa Anber Al Malki, RN, BScN, MSc, Women's Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
| Learning Objective #1: identify the pregnancy-related complications experienced by childbearing women of a nation |
| Learning Objective #2: appreciate the value of patient education programs in limiting reproductive morbidity and mortality, and the delivery of babies with optimal potential for survival |
Hamad Medical Corporation is the predominant public sector health care facility in Qatar. It operates five hospitals, including a 332-bed capacity Women’s Hospital (WH), and 23 primary health care (PHC) centers, that provide reproductive health care services to women of the country. In 2004, the PHCs provided prenatal care to 20,385 women; 97.0% of them experienced complications with their pregnancies, childbirth, and puerperium. These included threatened abortions, pre-eclampsia, placental abnormalities, intra-uterine deaths, hemorrhage, and low birth weight infants. The purpose of this survey was to determine (a) the factors leading to such a high incidence of complications in the childbearing women; (b) whether or not these women had any pre-natal education during their pregnancies; and (c) the health education needs of the women. A sample of 50 women admitted to the Women’s Hospital from the PHCs (60.0%) and the WH prenatal clinics (36.0%), with pregnancy-related complications, were the subjects of the survey, conducted from August 20 – 24, 2006. Data collection was through interviews, using a structured questionnaire; 64.0% had received no prenatal education during current and/or previous pregnancies; and all respondents strongly advocated for an established prenatal educational program (PEP). The findings support the argument that inadequate prenatal care and education has the potential for high-risk pregnancy, labor, delivery, and puerperium, as experienced by the respondents. The findings further imply an urgent need for the development, implementation, and evaluation of a socially and culturally appropriate PEP for the childbearing women of Qatar - with the goal to ensure that (i) the mothers can carry their pregnancies to term, have safe deliveries with limited or no acute or chronic reproductive morbidity (or mortality), be prepared for parenthood; and (ii) the babies are born healthy, with optimal potential for survival and success.