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Ending Fistula in Developing Nations

January 24, 2025 | by brainbox.id

Ending Fistula in Developing Nations

One of the least recognized and most pervasive health crises affecting maternal health in developing countries is fistula. Ending Fistula in Developing Nations Most of these fistulas arise from prolonged and obstructed labour and bring about physical and emotional suffering that traps the affected women socially and economically. While breast cancer is completely curable and preventable, millions of women in low income areas remain helpless and virtually invisible, as they lack proper health care and resources. This article describes the painful on obstetric fistula and measures being taken to eradicate it and why the world is committed to try and better maternal health of women in areas where the silent horror is still very much a reality.

Obstetric fistula effects social and emotional lives of the women as well as the physical well-being of those that develop this medical condition. This condition which normally occurs in women after prolonged period of labour without intervention contributes to the disabilities, which permanently isolates them from the society through conditions such as incontinence. Therefore, fistula not only hurts the body, but it also kills the spirit breaking a woman’s spirit and emotions as well as her physical well-being.

Ending Fistula in Developing Nations: What is Obstetric Fistula?

Ending Fistula in Developing Nations: What is Obstetric Fistula?
Image Source: freepik.com

Obstetric fistula is a severe mother and newborn complication that results from prolonged obstructed labour, which results in tissue damage and development of a hole between the vagina and either the bladder or rectum. This more often leads to something like, the patient develops severe leaking of urine or feces, which brings a lot of physical discomfort and social exclusion for women. Obstetric fistula is a major maternity morbidity that results from a complicated, prolonged labor resulting in an abnormal connection between the birth canal and either the urinary bladder or the rectum. This usually leads to uncontrolled crossing of urine or feces that causes a lot of physical suffering not to mention the shame that the affected women also go through.

The condition can result to chronicle infections, which will further compound the woman’s health, and in some, cases infertility. Further to the physical suffering, socially, psychologically and spiritually, suffer from rejection by their families and community therefore feels detached and hopeless.

Causes of Obstetric Fistula

  • Prolonged Labor: The main reason for fistula is delayed delivery, which takes more than two days because the baby is either stuck in the birth canal or has an improper position.
  • Malnutrition: When the mother’s body is weak and emaciated, delivery proves to be very difficult full of complicated passages.
  • Early Childbearing: Fistula risks are higher within the adolescent girls because their bodies cannot endure the physical shocks of childbirth.

Ending Fistula in Developing: The Impact of Obstetric Fistula on Women and Communities

Ending Fistula in Developing: The Impact of Obstetric Fistula on Women and Communities
Image Source: freepik.com

An operation for a fistula does not remove a disease from a woman’s body only but it degrades her spirit and social statuts. As such, they fear rejection and abandonment and an increase in the trauma resulting from violence. The effect is quite traumatizing as most of the women turn into worthless, and helpless, they lose their social status and dignity.

Some toil and groan and yet keep on expecting no one is going to know it so they will not reject them. This silence exacerbates the traumas because despite the fact the women feel themselves in pain and suffering they cannot call for help. Health care providers, governments and International organisations should support any effort involved in raising awareness, destigmatisation and to ensure that affected women get quality care they ought to receive.

Ending Fistula in Developing Nations: How You Can Help End Fistula

Ending Fistula in Developing Nations: How You Can Help End Fistula
Image Source: freepik.com

Enhancing facility based care particularly in the regions with high prevalence shows such as the rural areas will go along way in preventing obstructed labor and hence fistula. As much as it is necessary to avoid the formation of fistula it is equally important to ensure that those patients who have developed fistula receive adequate support to bring them back into the society.

Many of these governments, NGOs and local communities must therefore DO MORE through policy advocacy by urging the Governments of the world to put more resources into maternal health.Curing fistula is a issue that needs political and social solutions which is a right embracing and providing education to women and giving them quality of health care.Thus, it/control will be possible to ensure that female generational birth in the future and with obstetric fistula will be safe and with resistance to delivery.It is not a pleasant process, but with each and everybody’s efforts in order to liberate this veiled epidemic it is quite possible to do.

Conclusion

Conclusion
Image Source: freepik.com

Eradicating obstetric fistula is only possible through enhancing maternal health equity through the active collaboration of different stakeholders across the world. This is not only a health concern but human rights violation, and hand in hand we can change a world where women suffer from preventable birth injuries.

Collective efforts in this area are needed to enhance education and training of the health care providers EI, enhance awareness of women’s rights and the available services, and call for effective health care systems in all the deficient areas. Maternal health policies assume a similar role for fistulas inasmuch as by focusing on the health of mothers and ensuring adequate funding for reproductive health, its possible to build a structure that can safely prevent fistulas from developing.

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