DHAKA, Oct 11, 2018 (BSS) – Five women among every 3000 ever married women
of Bangladesh suffer from obstetric fistula, according to a survey of
EngenderHealth Bangladesh. The EngenderHealth Bangladesh in cooperation with
UNFPA conducted the survey that showed grim picture of obstetric fistula
affected patients due to inadequate knowledge about the disease.
Ramiza, 42, of Bamna Bazar Sheikh Para village under Badarganj upazila of
Rangpur district, is an unfortunate, depressed lady bearing the curse of
fistula for long 30 years. She was married and prematurely became pregnant.
Following prolonged labour, she gave birth to a dead baby at the Dinajpur
Haldibari Hospital and developed obstetric fistula. As such she was rejected
by her husband. Ramiza again got married but because of bad odor, she was
again thrown out of home after two days.
As she always lives with a bad smell so was isolated by her husband,
family and society and left alone.
Kulsum Begum (not real name) got married when she was only 14. She is now
about 40 years old and mother of three children. Kulsum was affected with
fistula while giving birth to her first child.
As a result of different health complications caused by fistula, Kulsum
started to get harsh behavior from her husband. Utter negligence of her
husband forced Kulsum to be separated from her family life. She is now living
an isolated life in the society.
Both Ramiza and Kulsum got married at their early age. Like Ramiza and
Kulsum, thousands of adolescents and teenage girls are becoming victims of
fistula disease because of their pregnancy at an immature age and inadequate
healthcare facilities.
Deputy Country Director of Save the Children Dr Ishtiaq Mannan said unsafe
delivery by unskilled birth attendants and prolonged delivery complications
causes fistula disease.
In most cases, poor women are the worst sufferers of fistula disease as
they hardly get adequate healthcare facilities with unsafe delivery
experiences by unskilled birth attendants at their home, he added.
“Fistula affected women experience uncontrolled, non-stop passage of urine
and feces per vagina. This happen when the birth canal gets connected with
urinary system and rectum through abnormal holes,” he added.
Prof Dr Abul Kalam Azad, Director General of Directorate General of Health
Services (DGHS) said, “There is no accurate figure of fistula disease in the
country and roughly the number of fistula patients is between 70,000 and
2,00,000.”
A total of 10 fistula centres have been set up at different public medical
colleges, aiming to cure fistula patients through surgery, he said adding
more fistula centres would be set up to provide treatment facilities to the
fistula patients.
He said, “Obstetric fistula is one of the most serious and tragic
childbirth injuries. It is a hole between the birth canal and bladder or
rectum caused by prolonged, obstructed labour, without access to timely and
high-quality medical treatment. It leaves women leaking urine, feces or both,
and often leads to chronic medical problems, depression, social isolation, he
added.
In case of obstructed labour, the fetal head gets arrested in the birth
canal for 12 hours or long, he said, adding the fetal head adds pressure on
the thin soft wall of vagina against pelvic bones and prolonged pressure
destroys the vaginal wall and holes get generated.
Pregnant women are affected by fistula disease when they suffer delivery
complications for 12 hours and more, he added.
Trend of fistula disease has significantly declined with increasing
facility delivery across the country, Prof Azad said adding, “It is a curable
disease and we will provide all necessary treatment facilities as well as
create awareness to prevent fistula disease across the country.