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Lauren Hicks
KIN 2600
A Beautiful Walk After Women’s Obstetric Fistulae
In the film ‘A Walk to Beautiful’ by PBS, women’s obstetric fistulae is treated in
Ethiopia. The World Health Organization describes an obstetric fistula as "the single most
dramatic aftermath of neglected childbirth…a hole that forms between the vagina and the
bladder and/or rectum during prolonged, obstructed labor.” ("What Is Obstetric Fistula?"). The
main parts of the female reproductive system that are involved and affected by an obstetric
fistula are the women’s vagina, bladder, and rectum ("What Is Obstetric Fistula?"). There are
many factors that contribute to the development of an obstetric fistula, such as physical,
economic, and environmental factors. The physical factors of an obstetric fistula involve “the
misery of uncontrolled leaking of urine (and sometimes feces)“ ("What Is Obstetric Fistula?").
According to The World Health Organization, the economic and environmental factors can
include “women and girls are ostracized and disdained by their families and communities.
Without being cured, women with fistula commonly spend the remaining years of their lives in
shame and isolation, literally waiting to die.” ("What Is Obstetric Fistula?"). Obstetric fistula’s
are so much more common in countries such as Ethiopia, rather than the United States and more
industrialized nations. This is true because women are more venerable to have a obstetric fistula
in developing countries because women that are “eradicated in developed countries at the end of
the 19th century when cesarean section became widely available, obstetric fistula still plagues
women throughout the developing world, specifically in parts of Africa, India, Bangladesh,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nepal. It is estimated that there are 100,000 new cases each year, but
the international capacity to treat obstetric fistula is limited to only 6,500 per year.” ("What Is
Obstetric Fistula?"). Fistulae can be prevented as well as treated. “Obstetric fistula is almost
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entirely preventable. Women in the affected regions worldwide must gain access to doctors and
medical facilities that can intervene when complications occur. Those who do not have access
during childbirth must have ways to seek treatment, which is usually a surgical procedure.”
("What Is Obstetric Fistula?").
Works Cited
References
"What Is Obstetric Fistula?" A Walk to Beautiful: Obstetric Fistula. Engel Entertainment,
n.d. Web. 11 June 2013.