Saudi women have bought over six million birth control pills costing SR108 million last year, according to a study by Saudi-based pharmacies, Makkah newspaper reported.

The total sale of the medication amounts to SR108,585,594 for about 5,877,318 medical boxes and units while the list also shows that women usually buy certain brands, with the Gynera brand being in the lead with sales of SR34.2 million, followed by Yasmin at SR27.2 million, Marvelon at SR23 million and Neo Sampoon at SR4,600,000 last year.

Economist Thamer Abduwahhab blames the high cost of living in the Kingdom as the reason for families who are resorting to limit their size. “Everything is expensive these days, from the cost of giving birth in hospital to clothing, food and schooling,” he said. “Families now prefer to have a maximum three children and some believe that one child is enough for them and that’s all they can afford,” he added.

According to Dr. Bodor Salem, a gynecologist, Saudi women visit their doctors for checkup and birth control pills before they get married. “I hear my patients saying they don’t want to get pregnant until after their first or sometimes second wedding anniversary fearing of early commitment. They always ask me for birth control pills even one month before the wedding night,” she said. “Other patients seek birth control after having their first or second babies, after consulting their spouses on limiting the size of the family,” she added.

Wedad Ibrahim, a mother of four, says if she could go back in time, she would have had only two children. “Life in Saudi Arabia is very expensive, especially if you want the best for your children. Hospital bills for child deliveries are upward of SR 20,000, which are followed by the baby’s essential needs like milk, clothing and medication. Expenses are never ending for children and you have to be well off to be able to pay for everything,” she said. “Schooling nowadays is very expensive. My children go to private schools and I pay around SR 26,000 for each child annually. If I had fewer children, my worries about money might have been less and maybe I would have enjoyed life better,” she added.