HYDERABAD: LUMHS’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Department Chairperson Prof Dr Roshan Ara Kazi has said that the majority of pregnancies and deliveries are uneventful as some involve complications that range from minor to life-threatening for the mother, for the baby, or for both.
She expressed these views, while talking to APP here, on the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula.
The countries around the world celebrate International Day to End Obstetric Fistula on May 23, with a variety of events to raise awareness of this neglected health and human rights challenge.
Prof Dr Roshan Ara Kazi said that it is unconscionable that the poorest, most vulnerable women and girls suffer needlessly from the devastating condition of obstetric fistula.
Victims of obstetric fistula are usually among the hardest to reach and are often illiterate and with limited access to health services, including maternal and reproductive health care, she added.
She said that more than 3,500 cases of obstetric fistula occur each year in Pakistan, while an estimated 2 million women live with fistula in the developing countries. Thousands of other women simply suffer in silence, unaware that they can seek medical assistance, added.
Prof Dr Roshan Ara Kazi said that one of the most serious injuries of childbirth, obstetric fistula is a hole in the birth canal caused by prolonged, obstructed labour due to the lack of timely and adequate medical care.
She said that besides these complications these women have to face the psychosocial morbidity which is hard to estimate. The continuous leakage of urine and smell carries a huge burden of grief leading to increased suicidal tendency.
Prof Dr Roshan Ara said that most of these women are socially outcasted; they are not allowed to sit with the family, attend family gatherings and are thrown out of public transport while travelling.
These patients are soon disliked by their husbands leading to marital disharmony and divorce.
