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AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

Keywords

obstetric fistula in sub-Saharan Africa, World Health Organization fistula data, UNHCR internally displaced women

Abstract

Obstetric fistulas are rare in the West but common for women in the Global South, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Fistulas are caused by prolonged or obstructed labor which forces downward pressure on the baby’s head and the mother’s pelvis. This pressure creates a non-natural opening in the genital region. Fistulas cause leakage of waste and therefore are often accompanied by unwanted odors. As of 2021, the prevalence of obstetric fistulas was 2 million women in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and 3 in every 1000 women of reproductive age in the world have a fistula. In the world, 30,000–130,000 new cases are registered each year. Fistula repair is a simple outpatient surgery and while 80–95 percent of all fistula cases can be closed surgically, only 1 in 50 women receive fistula repair surgery in Africa. Not only is there a lack of medical care available in Africa for these women, but many do not seek medical care because of the shame associated with fistulas.

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