A simple random sample of 4498 Saudi pregnant women was analysed to study the effect of consanguinity on pregnancy outcome. The rate of consanguinity was found to be 54.3% which comprised 31.4% of first cousins and 22.9% of other relatives. The average proportion of outcome was higher and over 50% within the consanguinous marriages in all pregnancy outcome except prematurity and low birth weights. In general, more unfavourable outcomes occurred among consanguinous than non-consanguinous marriages. Perinatal, infant and neonatal deaths were the most deleterious outcomes among related marriages with 62%, 60.3% and 57.9% respectively. The differences between total consanguinity and unrelated marriages in the infant and perinatal death categories were significant (P = 0.05).

Infant-feeding patterns were studied in 6,623 randomly selected Saudi families living in Riyadh. The 4,796 infants studied were under 1 year of age and were fed with breast milk plus bottle complements. Bottle-feeding was started in 27.3% of infants during the first month after birth. The mean age at which solid food was introduced was 3.45 months. The overall results suggest a decreasing incidence of breast-feeding along with diminishing length of nursing period.AR Al-Frayh, SS. Wong, KN. Hague, Infant Feeding Practices in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 1988; 8(3): 194-197 MeSH KEYWORDS: Feeding behavior-in infancy and childhood Infant-feeding habits in a community are constantly changing. Despite the considerable advantages of breastfeeding, 1-3 breast-feeding rates have declined. 4,5 We investigated current infant-feeding practices among a representative sample of Saudi mothers living in Riyadh. The study was part of a larger survey being conducted to determine the auxanological variance and growth standards among Saudi preschool children. Materials and MethodsThe study consisted of a community field survey using a structured questionnaire of 6,623 randomly selected Saudi families living in the Riyadh area.The sample design was essentially based on quota sampling using two interlocked controls of preschoolers' age and sex. To introduce the necessary element of randomness (both geographic and socioeconomic) during the actual selection process, a stratified three-stage random sampling frame of Riyadh administrative areas and roads was established.The city of Riyadh was first divided into 93 administrative areas. These areas were further divided into six strata according to socioeconomic homogeneity. About one fifth of the identified areas in each stratum were chosen randomly to be included in the study. Based on random selection, 17 of 93 areas were selected for the survey. Each randomly selected area was further subdivided into roads. Altogether, there were 1,376 roads in the 17 randomly selected areas. To obtain an overall sampling fraction of 1/30, about one sixth of the roads in each of the 17 areas selected from the first sampling stage were chosen randomly (224 roads). Finally, each road was subsequently divided into smaller, more manageable blocks of approximately equal size, and a sample of such blocks was randomly selected and surveyed.

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.

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A SURVEY OF Growth and Development of Saudi Infants and Pre-School Children is currently being conducted in Riyadh, with the objective of develop ing a growth chart for Saudi infants and pre-school children. Mixed longitudinal data on growth and anthro pometric measurements are presented for 6400 infants and pre-school children from Riyadh, capital city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This paper focuses on field survey research design and some methodological aspects of the study; sample structure, sampling design and pro cedures for data collection are discussed.