Awareness and knowledge of the obstetric and gynecological impact of bariatric surgery among women in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Obesity is still a major health issue worldwide and bariatric surgeries are now considered one of the most effective ways to manage morbid obesity. Women who are obese in their reproductive age appear to be representing the majority of the patients seeking bariatric surgeries, accounting for (80%). The aim of this study is to assess women's awareness level of obstetric and gynecological impact of bariatric surgery on their health. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey. METHODS: Online survey was used to collect data which was distributed through social media. Questions regarding the level of knowledge were included along with sociodemographic characteristics of the population. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to conduct the statistics analysis. RESULTS: The survey elicited a total of (457) valid responses that were analyzed. The majority of responses were from married women (66.3%). Most common age group where those from (15 to 24) years. However, nearly about three-quarters of participants were found to have poor knowledge (73.1%) and only small percentage had a good level of knowledge (3.3%) and the rest of the participants were in the moderate group. Further analysis showed that good knowledge was among those who have consulted a physician, underwent bariatric surgery, whom source of information was the internet, and whom had more than one source. CONCLUSION: The level of knowledge regarding the obstetric and gynecological impact among females was found to be poor in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia.