Five reasons cited for growing infertility among Saudi women

Experts have identified five main reasons including late marriages and increasing cases of abortion for the fall of fertility rate among Saudi women.

“The fertility rate of Saudi women declined from 2.9 children in 2013 to 2.8 children in 2014,” said one expert. The Kingdom maintained its second position in the Gulf, after Oman (2.9 children), in fertility rate.

However, Saudi Arabia registered considerable fall in fertility rate during the past 10 years as it declined from 3.6 children in 2004 to 2.8 children in 2014.

This trend has prompted experts to reiterate that the Kingdom does not require measures for family planning.

Late marriage among both men and women occurs due to study, work and economic condition, the experts said.

“High cost of living is another issue while widening duration between births from one to two years in the past to several years is another major reason for lower birth rates,” another expert said.

Growing abortion cases among women who get pregnant after 40 is another reason, the expert said, adding that growing cases of infertility have been reported in recent years.

Dr. Hamad Al-Sufyan, obstetrics and gynecology consultant, said there are five reasons for increasing cases of infertility among Saudi women — obesity, unhealthy food, diabetes and high blood pressure, smoking and unsuitable environment.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Salman, director of Human Development Center, said there is a gradual decline in Saudi population. “We don’t need to adopt any measures to bring down population further as we need manpower to accelerate the country’s development, and reduce dependence on foreigners,” said Dr. Al-Salman.