Effect of female genital mutilation on mental health: a case–control study

Piroozi, Bakhtiar; Alinia, Cyrus; Safari, Hossein; Kazemi-Karyani, Ali; Moradi, Ghobad; Farhadifar, Fariba; Yousefi, Fayegh; Bolbanabad, Amjad Mohamadi; Azadnia, Arian

doi:10.1080/13625187.2019.1709815

Cited by 15 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Similarly, Piroozi and colleagues found that the mean severe depression score was higher in a cohort of 122 women with FGM/C type I or II compared to 125 women without FGM/C (6.12 versus 4.60; p=0.008) (9). The link between FGM/C and psychological trauma is also acknowledged during asylum procedures (3).…”

Section: Case Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Defibulation Can Recall The Trauma of FGM/C: A Case Report

Gianmarco

Manin

Francesco

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: Women with FGM/C are known to have psychological sequelae from the cutting and other traumatic experiences. However, very few studies report immediate psychological sequelae of genital reconstructive surgeries for this population. The present case is the first to our knowledge to report PTSD symptoms immediately following defibulation, a procedure common in women with FGM/C type III.Case presentation: We present the case of a 31-year-old nulliparous woman in the second trimester of pregnancy with FGM/C type IIIa who was referred for antepartum defibulation to facilitate a vaginal birth. Immediately after an uncomplicated surgery under local anaesthesia and just before the first micturition, she developed post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and suddenly recalled the traumatic experience of her first micturition after FGM/C when she was a child in Sudan. The woman was offered psychiatric follow-up with psychotherapy for four months and a short course of benzodiazepines. She had fully recovered by the time of delivery, four months after surgery.Conclusions: We discuss the possibility of recall of a past traumatic experience of FGM/C during defibulation or other genital surgeries. We review the benefits and risks of defibulation, the impact of this procedure, and the setting and timing in which it is performed, focusing on women's mental health and psychological support.

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Section: Case Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Defibulation Can Recall The Trauma of FGM/C: A Case Report

Gianmarco

Manin

Francesco

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…They were more likely to experience psychological disturbances; suffer from anxiety, somatization, phobia and low self-esteem; and have a psychiatric diagnosis. Newer studies [6][7][8] have confirmed findings that women with FGM/C suffer from higher prevalence of symptoms of severe depression. A study from the Netherlands [8] found that 1 of 6 of their African female informants had indications of PTSD and that 1/3 of the 66 informants, showed symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as chronic psychosocial problems, that the researcher argued, seemed to be linked to the early experience of FGM/C in their childhood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

A system analysis of the mental health services in Norway and its availability to women with female genital mutilation

Lien

Hertzberg

2020

PLoS ONE

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Background This article explores mental health services in Norway and their availability for women subjected to female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). The article focus on the system of communication and referrals from the perspective of health workers, and aims to identify bottlenecks in the system, what and where they are to be found, and analyze how different mental health services deal with Sub Saharan African (SSA) women in general, but in particular with respect to FGM/C. Method The study was conducted in Oslo, Norway, using a qualitative fieldwork research design, with the use of purposeful sampling, and a semi-structural guideline. One hundred interviews were done with general practitioners (GPs), gynecologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, midwives and nurses. Analysis A system analysis is applied using socio-cybernetics as a tool to identify the flow of communication and referrals of patients. Findings The study shows that borders of subsystems, silencing mechanisms, regulations and “attitudes” of the system can lead to women with SSA background having difficulty getting access to the specialist services. High standards for referral letters, waiting lists, out pushing to the lower levels, insecurities around treatment and deference rules silencing mental health issues during consultancies, have a negative impact on the accessibility of services. Consequences are that mental health problems due to FGM/C are under-investigated, under-referred, and under-treated and a silenced problem within the mental health services for women. Conclusion A better integration of subsystems at the specialist level with the GP scheme is necessary, as well as providing competence on FGM/C to the different levels. It is also important to strengthen and integrating the services at the Municipal level and provide information to SSA women about the low threshold services.

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“…However, several studies have reported on mental health in patients with FGM/C more broadly. Piroozi and colleagues found that the mean severe depression score was higher in a cohort of 122 women with FGM/C type I or II compared with 125 women without FGM/C (6.12 versus 4.60; p = 0.008) [ 13 ]. The link between FGM/C and psychological trauma is also acknowledged during asylum procedures [ 7 ].…”

Section: Case Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defibulation can recall the trauma of female genital mutilation/cutting: a case report

et al. 2022

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Background Women with female genital mutilation/cutting are known to have psychological sequelae from the cutting and other traumatic experiences. However, very few studies report immediate psychological sequelae of genital reconstructive surgery in this population. The present case is the first to our knowledge to report post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms immediately following defibulation, a procedure common in women with female genital mutilation/cutting type III. Case presentation We present the case of a 31-year-old Sudanese nulliparous woman in the second trimester of pregnancy with female genital mutilation/cutting type IIIa who was referred for antepartum defibulation to facilitate a vaginal birth. Immediately after an uncomplicated surgery under local anesthesia and just before the first micturition, she developed post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and suddenly recalled the traumatic experience of her first micturition after female genital mutilation/cutting when she was a child in Sudan. The woman was offered psychiatric follow-up with psychotherapy for 4 months and a short course of benzodiazepines. She had fully recovered by the time of delivery, 4 months after surgery. Conclusions We discuss the possibility of recall of a past traumatic experience of female genital mutilation/cutting during defibulation or other genital surgeries. We review the benefits and risks of defibulation, the impact of this procedure, and the setting and timing in which it is performed, focusing on women’s mental health and psychological support.

show abstract

Effect of female genital mutilation on mental health: a case–control study

Cited by 15 publications

References 18 publications

Defibulation Can Recall The Trauma of FGM/C: A Case Report

Defibulation Can Recall The Trauma of FGM/C: A Case Report

A system analysis of the mental health services in Norway and its availability to women with female genital mutilation

Defibulation can recall the trauma of female genital mutilation/cutting: a case report

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