What is Obstetric Fistula?
One of the worst things that can happen to a woman is an obstetric fistula, an internal injury caused by an unrelieved obstructed labour during childbirth.
An obstetric fistula is an internal injury in the form of a hole between the birth canal and the bladder and/or rectum. It leaves women leaking urine or faeces, and sometimes both.
In Ethiopia, obstetric fistula causes untold physical and psychological pain to thousands of women.
What Causes Obstetric Fistula?
Obstetric fistula is caused by a prolonged, obstructed childbirth, when a woman lacks access to emergency medical care. During this time, the mother's delicate tissues in the birth canal are destroyed while trying to give birth.
Obstetric fistula disproportionately affects women in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to timely, high-quality maternal healthcare remains limited, particularly in rural and remote communities.
In Ethiopia, it is estimated that tens of thousands of women are still living with untreated obstetric fistula, often unaware that treatment is available.
Tragically, 90% of women who suffer an obstetric fistula give birth to a stillborn baby, often after an agonising obstructed labour lasting several days.
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About Dr Catherine Hamlin AC
Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Elders past, present and emerging throughout Australia and the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Traditional Owners of the land and waterways on which our Australian office is situated. We acknowledge the many ethnic groups in Ethiopia and their ancestral and cultural connection to the land where our work is undertaken.