Two countries, one injury: Obstetric fistula in Nigeria and Somalia

Countries: Nigeria, Somalia Source: Médecins Sans Frontières Obstetric fistula is a devastating yet preventable condition that continues to affect women with limited access to pre- and postnatal care. When Aisha* arrived at Jahun General Hospital in Jigawa state in northern Nigeria she was in deep physical and emotional pain: She had not only lost her child during delivery, but had sustained an injury while giving birth. On the other side of the African continent, Hodan* walked into Bay Regional Hospital in Baidoa, southwestern Somalia , after suffering for eight years from urinary incontinence caused by a difficult delivery. She had been married as a teenager in a village on the rural outskirts of Bur Hakaba. Her first delivery was prolonged and complicated; the baby was delivered with forceps but did not survive. Soon after, Hodan lost control of her bladder, and she was too ashamed to talk about her condition for years. These two women, thousands of miles apart, suffer from the same condition: obstetric fistula . This condition develops when the soft tissue between the birth canal and bladder or rectum is damaged through prolonged, obstructed labor without timely access to emergency obstetric care , creating a permanent opening through which urine or stool leaks continuously. Many of the women who reach us have lived with this condition for years before they even knew what it was. Fistula care is not only about surgery. It is about listening, counseling, and helping women rebuild their confidence. At Jahun General Hospital and at Bay Regional Hospital, teams from Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the respective state ministries of health provide reconstructive surgery, psychological support , and rehabilitation to women living with obstetric fistula. Risk factors for obstetric fis...

Original source: Relief Web