An evaluation of the different types of labor pain relief, preferred methods of pain relief, and effects of social media on awareness and knowledge among pregnant women: A cross-sectional study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the attitudes of pregnant women towards different forms of labor pain relief, preferred methods of pain relief, and the effects of social media on their awareness and knowledge. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between April and August 2017 in the Maternity and Children’s Hospital, Najran, Saudi Arabia. A total of 416 pregnant women were interviewed and analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA). RESULTS: A total of 62.7% were aware of labor pain. However, 58.7% of the total sample group was unaware of labor pain relief, and 79.8% of the total sample group was unaware of the different forms of labor pain relief available. Educational level was significantly associated with awareness and knowledge of labor pain relief (p=0.001). The majority of pregnant women obtained information from friends (57.5%); and only 16.1% of women received information from their health care providers. CONCLUSION: Most of the pregnant women recruited into this study had insufficient awareness of labor pain and methods of pain relief. They acquired their information from their friends and families rather than from their health care providers.