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Published on: March 12, 2019

Social implications of obstetric fistula: an integrative review

Karen M Roush1

  • 1New York University College of Nursing, 246 Greene St., New York, NY 10003, USA. kmr9354@hotmail.com

Journal of Midwifery & Women'S Health
|March 3, 2009
PubMed

Obstetric fistula is a devastating complication of obstructed labor that affects more than two million women in developing countries, with at least 75,000 new cases every year. Prolonged pressure of the infant's skull against the tissues of the birth canal leads to ischemia and tissue death. The woman is left with a hole between her vagina and bladder (vesicovaginal) or vagina and rectum (rectovaginal) or both, and has uncontrollable leakage of urine or feces or both. It is widely reported in scientific publications and the media that women with obstetric fistula suffer devastating social consequences, but these claims are rarely supported with evidence. Therefore, the true prevalence and nature of the social implications of obstetric fistula are unknown. An integrative review was undertaken to determine the current state of the science on social implications of obstetric fistula in sub-Saharan Africa.

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