Obstetric fistula is one of the most debilitating and serious childbirth injuries.
Will you help end the devastation of fistula for women like Faith?
Imagine never feeling clean, no matter how much you wash. Imagine being so afraid of going to the toilet that you limit how much you eat and drink. Imagine living with constant discomfort, agony, and deep shame.
For Faith, who lives in Nigeria, West Africa, this has been her reality ever since, at just eighteen years old, she experienced a horrific childbirth injury: fistula.
“I was confused. I thought it would pass, but it continued over months… I felt hopeless when I discovered that I could not return to school.”
An obstetric fistula happens when, during a prolonged labour, the baby becomes trapped in the birth canal and the physical pressure tears a hole between the birth canal and the bladder or the rectum.
It is difficult to fully comprehend the stigmatising impact of fistula for women in Nigeria. The leaking of urine and faeces stains a woman’s clothes, and the wetness and smell is extremely uncomfortable. All of this is made more difficult by the rejection that many women face by their families and friends, and sometimes their whole communities.
Your donation can enable women like Faith to access the corrective surgery they urgently need.
“More than 150,000 women are living in with obstetric fistula in Nigeria simply because they don’t have access to quality maternal healthcare services.
This debilitating condition leaves women isolated and alone, stigmatised by their communities, all because of a medical condition that can be treated.
It’s heartbreaking to know that some women have been living with the devastating impacts of obstetric fistula for years, even decades.
This is why the work of CBM and their partners in Nigeria is vital, and they need your support today to reach women living in some of the world’s poorest communities.”