Pre conception care: Its recognition and acceptance in hail, KSA. A cross sectional study

Objective: Objective of present study is to explore preconception care prospective in women living in Hail, Saudi Arabia. Methods and materials: It is a cross sectional study including 415 reproductive aged participants who were planning to conceive or not using any contraception. Women interviewed and responses collected from October 2017 to March2018. Results: Women of 30-45 years of age years showed maximum contribution (356). 63% of the responders were well educated from college level onwards. Nulliparous women made 9.9% while rest 90.1% were multiparous women of which 28 % had 2-4 children. Among 415 women 54% (224) had vaginal deliveries before, 17.8 %( 74) delivered by cesarean section. the women who had experience of both modes of delivery (vaginal and cesarean) made 18.8 %( 78) and 9.4 %( 39) didn’t had any delivery before. A good percentage 59.35% was familiar about this care while 39.8% had received it ever during their life. Majority of women 80% thinks it is beneficial and can affect future pregnancies positively, 79.8% expressed their wishes of getting it while planning their upcoming pregnancy. A large proportion 93% were convinced of its pay off and desired to recommend it to their family and friends and to help achieving healthier generations. Conclusion: We conclude that the awareness in regard to pre conception care, education is the main factor which is directly related to knowledge and understanding. Focus on the education of females can increases awareness as well as acceptability.