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The
topics to choose from where all of equal interest to me, each of great
importance. Of the list however I chose to research in more depth about
fistulas, a medical condition in which people of the Western world have
most likely never heard of. A fistula is an abnormal development
between two organs or parts of the body. Examples of a fistula could be
between the two blood vessels or in the case I am to focus on the
development of a fistula between the bowel and vagina known as an
obstetric fistula form due to complications of surgery, injury,
infection or diseases (Fistulas: MedlinePlus, 2015). For many women in
poverty stricken areas the horrors do not stop at being brutally raped
and sodomized but continues when they develop a fistula. Women are then
forced to be an outcast due to becoming incontinent and leaking feces
releasing a strong odor which leave them helpless and ashamed. Those
most affected are childbearing women who lack proper medical care while
giving birth especially those whose labor is obstructed (Kristof, N
& WuDunn, S, 2009, p. 93).
According
to Kristof & WuDunn (2009), at one point there was a fistula
hospital in Manhattan, New York but with medical care now improved this
is no longer needed, (p .96) Now a days when a labor is prolonged
people rely on a C-section to deliver. In developing countries with
medical care scarce this is still an issue, but it is clear that proper
medical care can practically eliminate the issue of fistulas.
Catherine Hamlin a gynecologist in Ethiopia stated, “They’re alone in
the world ashamed of their injuries. For lepers or AIDS victims, there
are organizations that help. But nobody knows about these women or helps
them (Kristof, N. & WuDunn, S, 2009, p. 96).” Not all fistulas
can be fully fixed due to not having enough tissue to work with. In
this case women may have to have a colostomies which is a bag which is
on the outside of the body through the abdomen were feces are emptied
into. However for many this too can become an issue because of the need
for ongoing care. It is reported that over 2 million women and girls
in Africa alone are suffering due to obstetric fistulas (Making Life
Worth Living, 2015).
One
of the main issues is the lack of acknowledgement of the importance of
maternal health care. The women in poor communities face a risk of
maternal death at one thousand times higher than that women within
Western communities. In addition many women who experience fistulas and
shunning develop depression and contemplate suicide. Simeesh a young
women in the novel Half the Sky was kicked off a public bus due the odor
of the leaking feces. Her family sold all their belongings and was
forced to pay for a private car in order to get transportation to an
hospital (Kristof, N. & WuDunn, S. 2009, p. 101). Yet another even
greater issue is a lack of trained surgeons who are able to provide care
for these women. Training health workers in local communities is
essential to long term care for areas in which fistulas are common. Not
only does it help with the great need for surgeons but it necessary in
long term planning efforts to bring assistance to these areas (Help give
a Women a New Life, 2015).
There
are many different avenues in which help is needed from educational
services to transportation to even providing the training to surgeons.
I’m a strong believer in communities finding their own innovative ways
to help themselves. This isn’t to say that can not get assistance, but
it is important that organizations do not aim to take over their
community but work alongside them providing them adequate training to
boost their own overall health care. This being said the Fistula
Foundation partners with direct links to providers at facilities that
hope to end fistulas. It is through these partners that the Fistula
foundation began to work with International Federation of Gynecology and
Obstetrics (FIGO) in beginning the first ever Surgery Training
Fellowship which lasts 6-8 weeks in providing training for individuals
who seek to return home to their communities in greatest need to provide
medical treatment (Help give a Women a New Life, 2015) With proper
medical treatment fistulas can be prevented, but this issue is far
greater than the community in itself. It may not be a problem of the
Western world anymore but through history people learned how to treat
and prevent this medical condition. It would be selfish to wipe our
hands clean now and ignore an issue that so many women are suffering
with. Yet finding ways to help these women is a lengthy battle, a
battle that many have yet to hear of.
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| fistulafoundation.org |
References
Fistulas: MedlinePlus. (2015, May 12). Retrieved July 23, 2015, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/
Help give a Women a New Life. (2015). Retrieved July 22, 2015, from https://www.fistulafoundation.
Kristof, N., & WuDunn, S. (2009). Half the sky: Turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Making Life Worth Living. (2015). Retrieved July 23, 2015, from http://www.freedomfromfistula.
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