John Snow, Inc. (JSI)

Posted on

CARE

Posted on

A Call to Action to Address Iatrogenic Fistula

Posted on

By: Kayla McGowan, Project Coordinator, Women and Health Initiative, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

The majority of discussion, research and interventions related to genital fistula have focused on obstetric fistula, an abnormal opening in the upper or lower female genital tract which leads to uncontrollable, constant leakage of urine and/or feces caused by inadequate medical intervention during prolonged or obstructed labor. Significantly less attention, however, has been paid to iatrogenic fistula, a similar condition that results from surgical error, often during cesarean section. Given that a growing number of genital fistula cases in low-income countries derive from iatrogenic causes, the fistula dialogue must expand to incorporate its many root causes. To this end, the Fistula Care Plus project at EngenderHealth recently hosted a webinar to review available data, recognize data gaps, identify definition challenges, share successes and discuss next steps in addressing iatrogenic fistula…read more