The purpose of this review is to examine the current literature on the principal risk factors affecting the pregnancies of Saudi Arabian women. To this end, the review covers the following areas of research: (1) demographic risks; (2) medical risks predating pregnancies; (3) medical risks during pregnancy; (4) behavioral and environmental risks; and (5) health care risks.
Assessments of demographic risk factors for Saudi Arabian women's pregnancy are scarce. Even as late as 1986, Nagi stated that:
The Gulf States - Kuwait, Gatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - are best known in the West as major oil producing countries. Scant information is available about their socioeconomic structure and much less is known about their population and demographic characteristics. (p.1)
However, since Nagi's study time some research has been conducted. For example, in their study of Kuwait in particular and the Middle East in general, Shah and Shah (1990) reported that there is disparity in infant mortality levels as a function of socioeconomic status. Specifically, the higher the socioeconomic status, the lower the probability of infant mortality. While the Saudi population has greatly increased its socioeconomic status in the last few decades, there are indications that many thousands remain poor, especially immigrants and villagers (Musagir, 1987).
Guzman-de-Manrique (1989) has noted that both low socioeconomic status and poor education are two demographic factors that jeopardize pregnancies of Third World women, primarily because they are associated with a lack of knowledge about health and nutrition. Moreover, once the baby is born, poverty and under-education are said to result in Third World mothers' failure to provide stimulation sufficiently adequate for sound cognitive growth. Thus, to the extent that Saudi Arabia may be legitimately characterized as "Third World" there is the possibility that these fi...