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This female health problem is curable
2005-09-21 07:36:39
By Editor
Reproductive health issues as far as we can remember, have been confined to certain circles only, mostly swept under the carpet and treated as women-related problems.
Any information concerning puberty, pregnancy, childbirth, sexually transmitted diseases, prenatal and postnatal care was disseminated to women only by their doctors, particularly gynecologists and nurses.
Customary practices make it a taboo for families to discuss reproductive health issues.
However, circumstances and reality have gradually changed the status quo and matters that were treated with utmost secret, are now made public.
An example of a health problem that turned events upside down is the HIV/Aids.
When it first struck in the early 80s, baffling the medical fraternity, scientists and researchers, it became difficult to deal with as it was accorded secrecy – sometimes even discussed in whispers.
But after global efforts to bring up the disease to the open, many communities in the world have realised the significance of an HIV/Aids dialogue.
Even as it has taken up to a decade to persuade religions to use their platforms to preach against the disease, the preachers have not been as forceful as they ought to be.
Yet, one sees light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to activists and campaigners, the HIV/Aids message has reached, most if not all corners of the world.
There is another serious reproductive health problem, which has not been given the attention it deserves, thanks again to outdated cultural practices and beliefs. Many people just don’t want to talk about it.
According to experts, obstetric fistula is a devastating medical condition consisting of a hole that is formed between the birth canal and the bladder or the rectum, resulting from unrelieved obstructed labour.
It is a serious ailment in areas where abject poverty and lack of health services have made life very difficult for some women.
When this condition occurs, a woman continuously and involuntarily leaks urine and sometimes feces.
A fistula patient is shunned, abandoned or divorced in the case of those who are married.
Fistulas occur mostly where health care is least available, afflicting millions of women in developing countries.
Many women who develop obstetric fistulas have given birth at home, often without skilled attendants or prompt access to emergency obstetric care.
The good news about the condition is that fistulas can be repaired with surgery and all that is needed is adequate information. In other words, the silence surrounding this devastating condition should be broken.
There is therefore nothing wrong with fistula patients.
No one should be scolded for being a victim. What’s more, doctors at referral hospitals like Bugando, Muhimbili National Hospital and CCBRT in Dar es Salaam have successfully repaired fistulas.
Even though we acknowledge the fact that some health problems like breast cancer and fistula occur in women only, their effects can devastate the whole family.
It is important therefore that individuals are educated on the facts about health matters, for them to know what to do in case they are faced with one such problem or the other.
In many parts of the country, organisations will need to raise funds for those requiring a repair but cannot afford to foot the bill.
It should be noted that fistulas occur in very poor communities where emergency health services like those of caesarian operation are not available.
With all this information on obstetric fistula, we believe that those who are in a position to reach out to rural areas where the problem is prevalent would be able to disseminate it.
Political party leaders, civil society and even religious leaders should incorporate the message into their schedules because in the end, a healthy woman means a healthy family. And yes, fistula is a curable health condition.
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