Fistula results from obstructed or protracted labour and can be avoided if these complications are identified early and the baby is delivered by caesarean section. An estimated two million women and girls worldwide suffer from Fistula. The symptoms are debilitating and continuous incontinence - continuous leakage of urine and faeces.
The physically immature body of a young girl going through puberty enduring pregnancy often triggers this condition and can also leave the girls infertile. These girls are condemned to a life of solitude as they are shunned by their husbands, families and communities. In many of these cultures infertility is viewed as a curse with the girls damned as witches and often expelled from the villages.
The training programme teaches the use of a partograph which is a monitoring graph that highlights obstructed labour and estimates delivery times. By intervening at the appropriate time with a caesarean section delivery Fistula is 100% avoidable.
