Living with obstetric fistula

Obstetric Fistula

Obstetric fistula is a serious and debilitating complication of childbirth affecting millions of women in the developing world. A gynecologic fistula refers to an abnormal communication between the urinary tract or the gastrointestinal tract and the genital tract, produced by obstetric causes, usually prolonged and obstructed labor. The earliest example of obstetric fistula was found in 2050 BC...

Experiences with Obstetric Fistula in Rural Uganda

She lost her baby 20 years ago. It was a long labor, lasting four merciless days, followed by a seemingly longer trip to the hospital on the back seat of an antique motorcycle, culminating in a desperate cesarean section, with only one life left to save. Two decades later, it is not the brooding absence of a long lost child that lingers on her features, but rather the accumulated sorrow of a li...

Obstetric fistula: the international response.

Obstetric fistula situation in Ethiopia

Obstetric Fistula in Ilorin, Nigeria

The obstetric urogenital fi stula has caused women misery ever since they fi rst started delivering children. It was once common worldwide, but with the advent of safe obstetric care during the early part of the last century, the condition has become rare in rich countries. Urogenital fi stulae do still occur in developed countries, but unlike in the developing world, they are usually a complic...