[Female genital mutilations, forced marriages, and early pregnancies]

Female genital mutilations, as well as forcible childhood marriage and their correlate adolescent pregnancies are traditional practices which, not only violate the dignity, but also jeopardize the health, and even the life, of women and their children. The complications of genital mutilations are frequent for a number of reasons: the fact that the clitoris is highly vascularized, the nature of the mutilations, excision or infibulation, and the poor conditions of hygiene. The short term complications are pain, hemorrhage, shock, and urinary retention. Medium term complications include gangrene, septicemia, tetanus, pelvic inflammatory disease, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis B or C infections. Serious sequelae may occur, including infertility and gynecologic disorders, and sexual life is invariably altered. The main obstetrical complications of genital mutilations are genital lacerations involving the labia minor and the perineum, which can lead to hemorrhage and sequelae such as urinary or anal incontinence, recto-vaginal and vesico-vaginal fistulas. The role of doctors, which is delicate because these customs are entrenched, is to detect genital mutilations, repair them and prevent them, by participating in health education programs. The consequences of forcible childhood marriage are serious, besides the fact that this is a disguised form of rape. The obstetrical risks favored by the underdevelopment of the uterus and the pelvis, include uterine rupture, preeclampsia and eclampsia, and obstetrical hemorrhage. The fetus/neonate are jeopardized by these complications, which can result in perinatal asphyxia and death, as well as the high rates of intrauterine growth retardation and preterm delivery. The impact of genital mutilations on delivery are compounded in childhood pregnancies for anatomical reasons, but also because these adolescents or children are extremely vulnerable and have poor access to perinatal care. In France, as well as in Africa, non-governmental and women's rights organizations are active in preventing these practices. We strongly recommend that these groups should receive aid and encouragement.