End obstetric fistula: Early pregnancies leading cause of fistula in women

MULTAN:

Complications connected to early pregnancies are mostly responsible for urogenital fistula diseases in women, Nishtar Medical Institute Urology Department Head Muhammad Rafiq Anjum said at a seminar on Friday.

The seminar was organised at the institute’s Regional Fistula Centre to mark United Nations Day to end Obstetric Fistula.

Anjum said 2 to 3.5 million women in under-developed countries suffered from fistula. “It is rarely reported in developed countries,” Anjum said. Though fistula was preventable, it had acquired social stigma, he said.

Most women do not seek appropriate treatment for it and there is dire need to raise awareness regarding the disease, Anjum said.

“We have heard of several cases in which men divorce their wives if they contract fistula,” he said. “It’s shocking to say the least.”

Dr Anjum said the Regional Fistula Centre had been established in Ward 8 of the NMI to not only treat patients but also to rehabilitate them. He said they had treated 362 patients since 2006 and 95 per cent of the patients had recovered completely.

Dr Anjum said around 800 women in the country died from child-birth related complications every day.

Head of Gynaecology Department Huma Qudusi said unsupervised pregnancies and deliveries sometimes resulted in fistula.

“Healthy women and healthy babies are very important for the future of the country,” she said. Prenatal, labour and antenatal care could alleviate the problem, she said.

Qudusi urged religious leaders to play a positive role in spreading awareness regarding the negative effects of early age marriages on women.  She said it was regrettable that women suffering from fistula were considered outcasts. “Instead of providing them medical care, they are shunned,” she said.  Dr Ghulam Haider Qaisarani and Dr Siddiq Khan Qadri also spoke on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2015.