Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH —The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) has revealed that cesarian sections accounted for 28.1% of births in Saudi Arabia during the current year.

According to the 2024 Women’s Health and Reproductive Care Statistics Bulletin, published by GASTAT, the rate of natural births in Saudi Arabia was 71.4% during the year, while skilled health specialists were present during 99.6% of childbirths.

The results indicated that 99.5% of women made at least one visit to a healthcare provider before giving birth while the average number of visits was 7.57. The percentage of births in government hospitals was 66.1%, compared to 32% in private hospitals.

Statistics showed that 65% of women breastfed their children in the first hour of birth.

The results also showed that 29.9% of married women currently use any family planning method, while 56% of married women of childbearing age have satisfactorily met their needs for family planning using modern methods.

The percentage of women who decided on their own or in partnership with their husbands to use birth control methods reached 74.9%, while the percentage of women who made health care decisions on their own or in consultation with their husbands was 89.8%.

The statistics on women’s health and reproductive care correlated with data on women’s and children’s health, which is compiled annually by GASTAT, through a sample of women in the age group of 15-49 years.