Treatment of birth injuries
A birth injury can have serious consequences for those affected. Women who suffer from obstetric fistula often live rejected and with severe physical discomfort. Yet most of these cases could be cured.
A fistula is an injury that can occur if the birth process is severely delayed without adequate professional care. A hole forms between the bladder and the vagina or between the the rectum and the vagina, causing incontinence in the woman. Those affected live with severe pain and great physical limitations. The consequences of obstetric fistula are also psychologically very stressful for those affected. The women or girls narrowly escape death and lose their child. Many are traumatized and struggle with depression. Due to various stigmas, fistula patients usually live socially isolated, outside their village community: the uncontrolled loss of urine or bowel movements often leads to the exclusion of those affected from their home. They are often no longer able to work. In order to survive, they are dependent on their families or have to beg.
Causes of obstretic fistula
The causes of fistula injuries can also be found, among other things, in the lowering social status of women. For example, when girls are forcibly married against their will at a young age, the likelihood of suffering a fistula during childbirth increases massively. Almost 50% of those affected are between the ages of 10 and 19. Physical development into a woman is not yet complete at this age and, accordingly, the pelvis is often not wide enough for the completion of a birth.
Other reasons are extreme poverty and the related difficulty in accessing basic health care. The nearest hospital or health institution is sometimes hours or days away from rural villages. For this reason, community awareness also plays an essential role in the prevention and elimination of obstetric fistula. This is because if the signs of a complicated birth are known, the affected girls and women can seek medical support in time.
How Women's Hope is committed to the treatment and prevention of birth injuries
An obstetric fistula can be closed by a surgical procedure performed by a specially trained fistula surgeon. After a successful operation, the women no longer lose urine or stool. Yet these women, who have often lived with their disease and stigma for many years, must be located and transported to the appropriate facility before they can be operated on in a hospital. Since they are often malnourished, a restorative diet is also necessary before surgery.
After surgery, women often need physiotherapy and psychological support. In addition, each woman and her needs must be addressed and individual rehabilitation programs must be put together. The goal is not only to heal the symptoms, but also to successfully reintegrate the women into an existing social environment or to build a new network on a secure livelihood.
Thus, Women's Hope is committed to the identification, treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration of women and girls with obstetric fistula. Affected women can overcome the physical, psychological, social and economic consequences of their suffering and thus lead a dignified life again.
Your donation makes it possible for us to provide support quickly and without complications. Thank you for your help!
Cover picture: Fistula patient at the Hamlin Fistula Hospital, Image: Hanspeter Baertschi
How we work
Together with the Alliance «Gender Equality & Health» and our local partner organizations, we take a multifaceted approach to address challenges at their roots whenever possible.
Key figures on obstetric fistulas
Almost 50%
of all patients with fistulas are between 10 and 19 years old. Many teenagers have not yet completed their physical development. They are not ready to give birth. The younger the girls, the greater the risk of complicated births.
80% - 95%
are the chances of success for fistula operations – depending on the complexity of the case.
Approximately CHF 360.-
is the avarage cost of a fistula operation.
135 operations
for the treatment of birth injuries werde made possible by Women's Hope in 2022.
Healing obstetric fistula
What is obstetric fistula?
Start a SURGERY Sponsorship!
With a regular donation (for example CHF 365/year), you can fund a fistula operation. With your donation, you will help a woman to a new life in dignity.
Women's Hope project examples
Ethiopia: fistula survivors build their future
The Desta Mender Rehabilitation Center in Ethiopia supports the physical and psychological healing of fistula survivors. Vocational training helps fistula survivors to build a self-determined and independent future.
Bangladesh: End Fistula
In Bangladesh, many fistula patients are unaware of the cause of their suffering and that fistula is curable in most cases. The "End Fistula" project aims to reach, identify and treat those affected, and to reintegrate them into society.