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- Title
FALL FROM GRACE.
- Authors
Ebrahim, Zofeen T.
- Abstract
The paper aims at dealing with a lesser known and much less talked about pregnancy-related disability -- obstetric fistula -- and the severe social toll it exacts on a woman. While on the one hand this paper attempts to indicate, the lack of priority given to women's health on national health policy agendas, on the other it aims at prodding health professionals about the challenges and gaps faced in maternal and newborn health. An entirely preventable and treatable condition which many have never even heard of, obstetric fistula afflicts nearly two million women, a vast majority of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia. The paper is based on interviews conducted with women suffering from fistula in Pakistan, those who have got a new lease of life after having had reconstructive surgery, husbands, mothers and mothers-in-law as well as with gynecologists and obstetricians, and therein lies the originality and reliability of the research. The recommendations for interventions to prevent fistula are thus based on the experiences of those afflicted and of views expressed by experts who are seeing the consequences of the disease every day. These include: epidemiologic research; discouraging early marriages; delaying the first pregnancy; a continuum of quality maternal healthcare services; midwifery trainings for skilled birth attendance.
- Subjects
PAKISTAN; FISTULA; WOMEN'S health; TEENAGE marriage; FIRST pregnancy; MATERNAL health services; MIDWIVES; TRAINING
- Publication
Pakistan Journal of Women's Studies: Alam-e-Niswan, 2006, Vol 13, Issue 2, p215
- ISSN
1024-1256
- Publication type
Article