Nigeria task force alerts public to fistula hazards

Nigeria's National Task Force on Vesico-vaginal Fistula has published a booklet to draw public attention to the problem of fistulae. The 20-page booklet explains how fistulae happen and what can be done to prevent them. It makes clear that early marriage and early pregnancy are major causes of fistulae that lead to the social rejection of many young women. The booklet tells the story of two girls in a series of color pictures with accompanying text in Hausa and English. One girl is given in marriage to an older man at the age of nine, becomes pregnant before she is fully grown, suffers obstructed labor, is denied obstetric care and is left with a vesico-vaginal fistula. With urine leaking from her bladder through her vagina, she smells constantly of urine and is thrown out of the house by her husband. Her parents also reject her and she is reduced to begging until one day she hears of a hospital where fistulae can be repaired. After the repair she is warned that if she has any more babies they must be delivered in a hospital. The other girl is not given away in marriage but goes to school, graduates from university and marries a man of her choice. She becomes pregnant only when her body is fully developed, attends the antenatal clinic, has an easy labor and safe delivery.