King Abdul Aziz Hospital and Oncology Center is holding a two-day conference and workshop on birth control and family planning which will be inaugurated by Dr. Sami Badawood, Director of Jeddah Health Affairs, on Saturday. The conference will discuss religious rulings on the issue of birth control, recent medical methods to control pregnancy and how different methods can be suitable for different women depending on their physical health and their history of disease. Dr. Entisar Al-Taylouni, a gynecology consultant at King Abdul Aziz Hospital and Oncology Center (KAAHOC), told Saudi Gazette that doctors have noticed that many women are not aware of the medical issues related to birth control. “For this reason, we think that family medicine doctors are our main target as any family planning program must involve these doctors who are in direct contact with families,” Dr. Al-Taylouni said. He added that family medicine doctors should always update their knowledge of how pregnancy control methods can be used and what side effects can occur when a woman uses a method which is not suitable for her. Prominent speakers from different local health institutes will take part in the conference. “We have invited a number of maternity and gynecology consultants from King Abdul Aziz University, National Guard Hospital, King Faisal Hospital in Al-Khobar and King Abdul Aziz Hospital and Oncology Center,” he added. Al-Taylouni pointed out that there was no need to invite speakers from international health institutes because of the sensitivity of the issue in Saudi society. “We believe this is an especially sensitive issue in our society, and one that we should discuss in light of our religion, culture and traditions,” he said. According to Dr. Al-Taylouni, Dr. Mohammed Ali Al-Bar, an eminent Islamic medicine researcher, will give a lecture on family planning from a religious point of view. “We will gather many professionals to discuss ways to help families live happily by changing their conceptions and opinions towards pregnancy and pregnancy control methods,” he added. He denied that the conference was meant to be a campaign to decrease pregnancy cases and said, “We are all Muslims and we would never discuss what may contradict our beliefs. We want to make couples aware of the effectiveness and risks of birth control methods, such as, contraceptive and intrauterine devices, and how family planning can reduce many risks.” He pointed out that mothers under 15 and over 40 are at higher risk, especially if they are diabetics, suffer from osteoporosis, high blood pressure or anemia. “So, it is important to discuss such things to come up with recommendations that will help save lives,” he said.
