No mother deserves to suffer painful and shameful fistula

Giving birth plays the biggest role in perpetuating the human race. Women give birth to children every day, a greater number than the people who kick the bucket.

That is why we have ever-increasing population growth.

Birth includes labour and delivery. The Holy Qur’an says “….in pain did his mother bear him and in pain did she give him birth.” The Holy Bible describes the pains in childbearing as “very severe.”…it reads “…I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labour, you will give birth to children”.

Some people hold that “giving birth to a baby equals the pain of breaking 42 bones at once.” They describe the pain as “the second most painful after burning alive.”

While the comparison is controversial, my point here, as much as having children is so natural, it is never easy. It is often a matter of life and death.

Yet, for the majority of mothers, a new baby is a wonderful blessing, hope, and a new dream. The first moments with your newly born baby are indescribable. If there was a measure of joy, it is one of the biggest in the world.

Yet sometimes giving birth can be complicated. Take the example of Madam “A” who lived and gave birth in the village. Her husband moved to Dar es Salaam to search for employment. She used to be a very cheerful lady, but became gloomy, even as she brought up her baby, without the help of the father.

She could not understand what happened to her body after birth. And in the village dispensary, there was no gynecologist. Since she was wetting and dirtying her clothes, she became a butt of jokes in the village. Little did anyone know, even herself that she was suffering from a childbirth injury, called a fistula. It can cause life-changing damage to a woman’s body. The condition comes with shame, poverty, and rejection.

In Tanzania, one of the long-term traumatic birth experiences is when a lady develops a fistula after giving birth. Researchers estimate over 2 million women suffer from fistula. It’s a preventable and treatable condition but women from poor backgrounds suffer it for years, some out of ignorance, others because they cannot afford treatment.

Any gynecologist will tell you that women are often ashamed after suffering a fistula, as it’s an abnormal opening.

UN Women on May 23 commemorated the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula. People across the world are encouraged to take actions toward the treatment and prevention of obstetric fistula among girls and women.

The day reminds the community that obstetric fistula is preventable. It can largely be avoided when there is timely access to obstetric care, delayed age of first pregnancy, and the cessation of harmful traditional practices.

According to the UN, obstetric fistula accounts for 8 percent of maternal deaths and 90 percent of cases result in stillbirth. Danish ambassador to Tanzania Mette Nørgaard Dissing-Spandet tweeted that “no women should get fistula when giving life!” She said about 3,000 women in Tanzania each year suffer from a serious but treatable childbirth injuries. The embassy works with CCBRT Hospital towards a Fistula-Free Generation, by treating women suffering from fistula at no cost. In 2021/2022, about 400 women were treated. Kudos to them!

Fistula is a traumatic condition that dampens birth experiences. The environment of pregnant mothers needs to be conducive and should give birth at the hospital with both human resources and equipment that will make delivery safe.

Women experience different trauma including bullying. According to the MBRRACE-UK 2018 report, due to trauma “black women were 5 times more likely to die in pregnancy, childbirth and the six-week postpartum period.” Nations must work hard to reduce (if not end) traumatic childbearing.