News Q: What is an obstetric fistula? A: This is a condition which occurs when a woman is in labour for four or five days. The bony head of the baby presses on the pelvis for so long that a hole develops between the vagina and the bladder or between the vagina and the rectum, resulting in urinary or faecal incontinence. It's possible to prevent this injury by delivering the baby by caesar-ean s...

BACKGROUND Obstetric fistula (OF) is a maternal morbidity associated with high rates of stillbirth, amenorrhea, and sexual dysfunction. Limited data exists on the reproductive outcomes of women in the years following a fistula repair. The objective of this study is to describe the fertility outcomes and family planning practices in a population of Malawian women 1-4 years after fistula repair. ...

Introduction A scourge from time long past that we thought removed from the surface of the earth has affected humanity again, or more correctly, part of humanity. A misery so all-embracing that it is incomprehensible to people of the Western world is everyday reality for hundreds of thousands of young women in Africa and other parts of the developing world. A disease by the somewhat strange nam...

BACKGROUND Although the magnitude of obstetric fistulae (OF) is reported to have decreased in industrialised countries, it is still a major problem in developing countries especially the fistulae resulting from obstructed labour. Vesico-vaginal fistulae (VVF) are the most common and the most frequent type of urogenital fistulas. In most cases, surgery is required for treatment. The aim of this ...