obstetric fistula
obstetric fistula, abnormal duct or passageway that forms between the vagina and a nearby organ. This type of fistula most often forms either between the bladder and the vagina (vesicovaginal fistula) or between the rectum and the vagina (rectovaginal fistula). Obstetric fistulas frequently occur as a result of complications that arise during childbirth and that cause a prolonged decrease in blood supply to the vagina and bladder or rectum. This typically occurs when an obstruction causes the fetus’s head to remain pressed against the pelvis for a long period of time. Deprived of blood, the affected tissues eventually die and an opening forms between them, giving rise to a fistula and allowing urine or feces to pass uncontrollably. Other causes of obstetric fistula include Crohn disease, infections, tumours, radiation therapy, and physical trauma sustained during sexual violence.
Obstetric fistula is a serious problem for women living in impoverished countries, where prompt medical intervention for labour complications is often lacking. In fact, studies have indicated that some two million women in developing countries worldwide are afflicted by obstetric fistula and that between 50,000 and 100,000 new cases arise annually in those regions. In the first decade of the 2000s an increase in obstetric fistulas occurred in women and girls in war-torn regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Gang rape by soldiers was so prevalent in some areas of the country that vaginal destruction was officially recognized as a war crime.
Obstetric fistula associated with labour can be prevented through medical interventions such as cesarean section. The primary form of treatment is intravaginal surgery, which closes the passageway. In cases when vaginal surgery is not feasible, a urostomy or colostomy may be performed to divert urine or fecal wastes respectively into a collecting pouch. Untreated obstetric fistulas are associated with an increased risk for infection, kidney disease, and neurological disease. Women that develop obstetric fistulas frequently suffer psychologically, experiencing feelings of humiliation or shame due to their condition.
