Effect of vaginal scarring on the recovery of surgical repair of obstetric fistula in Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

Globally, an estimated 2-3 million women live with untreated obstetric fistula. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 50 000-100 000 women develop obstetric fistula annually, with at least 33 000 of these located in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). 1 SSA and South Asia are the regions that have the highest burden of obstetric fistula. There are over 6000 new cases per year in these two world regions. In the developing world, the prevalence of obstetric fistula is 29 per 100 000 women of reproductive age, and in SSA and South Asia its prevalence is 16 and 12 per 10 000 women of reproductive age, respectively. 2 Ethiopia is one of the highest burdened countries that constitute the fistula belt in the world and most women are young and married in their early teens to farmers with little or no education. These women are given heavy tasks in the household and have no access to health facilities during pregnancy and labor. 3 The estimated coverage of institutional and home deliveries in Ethiopia is 48% and 52%, respectively. This shows that most women are giving birth at home without any medical care and are exposed to devastating conditions. 4

Proportions and determinants of successful surgical repair of obstetric fistula in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The review covered three WHO regions, namely Africa (56 studies), South-East Asia (eleven studies), Eastern Mediterranean (ten studies), and two studies involved data gathered from both South-East Asia and Africa. In terms of study design, nearly half (39) of the included studies were retrospective cross-sectional studies. Furthermore, most (72) of the included studies used surveys instead of sampling.…”