oa Knowledge of Risk Factors for Spontaneous Abortion among Qatari Arab Women

Spontaneous abortion affects one in four of all pregnancies (Crenin, 2001). The rate of spontaneous abortion among Qatari Arab women presenting to Women's Hospital, Doha, Qatar is 34% (Women's Hospital, 2012) compared to the next highest ethnic minority (Egyptian Arab women) at 18%. Understanding and modifying risk factors for spontaneous abortion may prevent future miscarriages. Purpose: To assess the level of knowledge of risk factors for spontaneous abortion among Qatari Arab women. Methods: A cross-sectional self-administered survey was completed by 290 Qatari Arab women. The questionnaire assessed knowledge of modifiable lifestyle risk factors of spontaneous abortion. Univariate and bivariate analysis of the data was conducted. Odds ratios were used as a measure of association between categorical variables; confidence intervals and the chi-square test were used to determine whether or not the association was statistically significant. All tests were 2-sided and findings considered significant at p < 0.05. Results: Only 2.6% of the participants were aware of all 11 modifiable lifestyle risk factors. Most women (56%) had knowledge of only 5 or fewer risk factors of spontaneous abortion. Women who had a high school education and were younger than 25 years were two times more likely to know 5 or fewer risk factors than college educated women over 26 years of age (OR=2; CI: 1.2 - 3.3, p<.05). Conclusion: There is a significant lack of knowledge of the risk factors of spontaneous abortion among Qatari Arab women who attended the Antenatal Clinic at Women's Hospital, Doha, Qatar. Targeted and repeated health education during regular clinic visits may increase awareness. This may lead to a behavioral change preventing future spontaneous abortions.