Practice and methods of contraception among Saudi women in Riyadh.

The use of contraceptives can have an impact on better spacing between children, better child care, improvement of children's health and preservation of the mother's health. In this study 2675 Saudi women attending a gynaecology out-patient clinic were interviewed about their contraceptive practices. The majority of the women (56.0%) were using or had used some form of contraceptive. Oral contraceptives were the most common method; 94.8% of the 1497 women who practised contraception were using or had used this form of contraception. Sterilization accounted for 0.9% of contraceptive practices, while the intrauterine device was a more common form of contraceptive among the more educated women.