BackgroundIn the developing countries millions of women in the reproductive age who don’t use contraceptives prefer to postpone or limit their birth. This indicates their failure to take necessary decision to prevent and avoid unwanted pregnancy.MethodsA community-based cross sectional household survey was conducted to investigate unmet need for family planning and associated factors and total demand for family planning in Kassala, Eastern Sudan between 1st May and 31st July 2012.ResultsA total of 812 married women were enrolled in this study. Their mean age and parity was 31.8 (7.3) and 3.4 (1.8) respectively. Ever use of contraception was 25.4% (206/812) and 26.2% (213/812) were currently using contraception. Unmet need for spacing was 15.1% while unmet need for limiting was 0.7%. The pregnant and amenorrheic women whose the pregnancy or birth was unwanted and mistimed were 105 (13%) and 130 (16%) respectively. Using Westoff model the total unmet need was estimated as 44.8%. The total demand for family planning was 71%.In logistic regression model, while age, age at marriage, parity, residence and experience of child death were not associated with total unmet need for family planning, women education < secondary level (OR=7.8; CI=5.6-10.9; P=0.00), husband education < secondary level (OR=1.9; CI=1.3-2.6, P = 0.00) and woman’s occupation; housewife (OR=4.3; CI=2.5-7.2; P=0.00) were associated with the total unmet need.ConclusionsUnmet need for family planning in Eastern Sudan was significantly higher among women with less than secondary education. Also; it is influenced by couple’s educational status and woman’s occupation. The results of this study necessitate the need for the programme managers to take into account the concept of reproductive health education.

BackgroundInvestigation of maternal near-miss is a useful complement to the investigation of maternal mortality with the aim of meeting the United Nations' fifth Millennium Development Goal. The present study was conducted to investigate the frequency of near-miss events, to calculate the mortality index for each event and to compare the socio-demographic and obstetrical data (age, parity, gestational age, education and antenatal care) of the near-miss cases with maternal deaths.MethodsNear-miss cases and events (hemorrhage, infection, hypertensive disorders, anemia and dystocia), maternal deaths and their causes were retrospectively reviewed and the mortality index for each event was calculated in Kassala Hospital, eastern Sudan over a 2-year period, from January 2008 to December 2010. Disease-specific criteria were applied for these events.ResultsThere were 9578 deliveries, 205 near-miss cases, 228 near-miss events and 40 maternal deaths. Maternal near-miss and maternal mortality ratio were 22.1/1000 live births and 432/100 000 live births, respectively. Hemorrhage accounted for the most common event (40.8%), followed by infection (21.5%), hypertensive disorders (18.0%), anemia (11.8%) and dystocia (7.9%). The mortality index were 22.2%, 10.0%, 10.0%, 8.8% and 2.4% for infection, dystocia, anemia, hemorrhage and hypertensive disorders, respectively.ConclusionThere is a high frequency of maternal morbidity and mortality at the level of this facility. Therefore maternal health policy needs to be concerned not only with averting the loss of life, but also with preventing or ameliorating maternal-near miss events (hemorrhage, infections, hypertension and anemia) at all care levels including primary level.

Medical files of women delivered at Kassala Hospital, Eastern Sudan in the period of January-December 2009 were reviewed retrospectively. Out of 4,689 delivered women, 14.7% were teenagers, 67.1% had no antenatal care and 12.6% were grandmultiparous. Obstetric complications included: pre-term birth (2.6%); pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (4.2%); haemorrhage (2.9%); malpresentation (5.5%); obstructed labour (1.9%) and ruptured uterus (0.6%). Caesarean delivery rate was 31.1%. While 89.4% of the newborn babies were taken home, 6% were admitted to the nursery, 4.4% were stillbirths, and 0.2% immediate neonatal deaths. There were 26 maternal deaths (550 per 100,000 live births), mainly due to septicaemia (38.4%), haemorrhage (19.2%), embolism (15.3%) and malaria (11.5%). Thus, there is a high frequency of maternal morbidities and mortality which needs improvement in obstetric care. It is important to make visits from a tertiary hospital to the region to collect statistics and discuss management of the problems they reveal, with the local staff.

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Background: Mostly, woman needs care during some periods of her life including the purpureum. It is a period that starts after delivery of placenta and last for the following 6 weeks. Her health can be improved for the rest of her life with proper care and nutrition during this period. Aim: This study aims to explore different dietary and behavioral customs among women in eastern region in KSA and how it will affect their health. Methods: A crosssectional study was carried out in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia.Women who experienced surgical or medical difficulties throughout their period were excluded. Using a pre-constructed validated questionnaire to interviewed eligible women. Data collected included demographical data, dietary and behavioral practices and the source of the knowledge and practices and the social support. Results: The study questionnaire was completed by 459 females in total. Females' median ages were 26.7, 13.9 years, with ages ranging from 18 to more than 35 years. Their family's elderly female members (47.1%) were the most often cited information source, followed by health education initiatives (22.2%). 95.9% of the female participants-a total of 440-said they had assistance from their friends and family after giving birth.In 405 (92%), both the husband and the mother supplied support, followed by the husband by himself (38%; 167) and the housemaid (21.4%; 94). Conclusion:In conclusion, the findings in the study showed that most study females had received mistaken advice against adopting several healthy behaviors and eating routines during the postpartum period.