Special needs of ritually circumcised women patients

Female circumcision is a custom that affects many women who live north of the equator in Africa. Health-care practitioners in the United States may not have access to the information necessary to ensure that these women obtain optimum health care that is medically and culturally appropriate while they are in this country. This article describes the practice of female circumcision. It discusses urinary, gynecologic, and obstetric complications and includes a Sudanese physician's protocol recommended to avoid tearing during the delivery of a neonate. Health and social concerns are shared from the perspectives of circumcised women. The authors offer suggestions to assist health-care practitioners in providing culturally sensitive health-care services.