Drs. Catherine and Reginald Hamlin: Pioneers in Obstetric Fistula Repair

An obstetric fistula is a serious and debilitating complication of childbirth. It is an abnormal communication between the urinary tract or the gastrointestinal tract and the genital tract, produced by obstetric causes, usually prolonged and obstructed labor. The fetal head presses against the bony pelvis, creating a connection between the genital tract and the bladder or rectum, resulting in incontinence and, frequently, stillbirth. Factors such as early marital age, poverty, and limited access to obstetric care have perpetuated the high incidence of obstetric fistula in Ethiopia. Two Australian physicians, Reginald Hamlin and Catherine Hamlin, arrived in Ethiopia in 1959 and were compelled to address the significantly unmet need for obstetric fistula repair. The Hamlins developed an innovative surgical technique to address this issue. Their commitment extended to the establishment of the Addis Ababa Fistula Repair Hospital, which, over the following decades, provided life-changing reconstructive surgeries to more than 60,000 Ethiopian women.