« Return to Article

Member Comments

• • Reply
  • Report Abuse
  Posted By:
  SethTE at 05/21/2008 3:21:19 PM
  Comment:
  More attention needs to be brought to issues like these that are relatively simple and inexpensive to correct and/or prevent. To know that something that has been eradicated in the developed world still causes great harm in undeveloped countries is unfortunate.
  http://sethandray.wordpress.com
• • Reply
  • Report Abuse
  Posted By:
  ravenchukwu at 05/20/2008 5:49:24 PM
  Comment:
  "Fistula" is not in itself a discrete ailment or condition. (Usually preceded by an article) It refers to any abnormal connection between two body organs or between an organ and the body surface (for instance between the trachea and the esophagus or between the bowel and the body surface).
  
  The specific conditions being referred to in the article are the obstetric fistulae - vesico-vaginal (between the vagina and bladder) and recto-vaginal (between the vagina and the rectum) - and the author is right to draw attention to it and to the plight of the affected women.
• • Reply
  • Report Abuse
  Posted By:
  sndpul at 05/20/2008 4:37:34 PM
  Comment:
  I was almost one of those childbirth deaths, too. I had a pretty bad rectal/vaginal fistula after having my one-and-only baby (labor for 30+ hours) and I can't imagine not having had the means to fix it. Luckily for me, I happened to be born in the U.S.A!
  
  I can't believe these poor girls are outcasts :'( That just really makes me mad.
• • Reply
  • Report Abuse
  Posted By:
  citzen101 at 05/20/2008 3:11:30 PM
  Comment:
  Something like 3 billion women walking around and ONLY half a million die from childbirth. My god, you had a greater chance of getting killed just driving to the hospital or getting the flu!
• • Reply
  • Report Abuse
  Posted By:
  Jomada at 05/20/2008 1:58:19 PM
  Comment:
  Also, women in the Congo who suffer from atrocity rapes often end up with fistulas, leaving them drip urine or ***. HBO aired the special - The Greatest Silence - which captures some of this.
  
  For those of us aware of these issues, I personally feel like screaming when the media so conveniently overlook these issues or belittle them (they mention "women raped" - 2 words - in their analysis of the Congo conflict).
  
  Thanks for raising awareness.
• • Reply
  • Report Abuse
  Posted By:
  la_torquemada at 05/20/2008 1:43:27 PM
  Comment:
  Though of course fistula sufferers should be provided restorative surgery, the real cause of many fistulas (and the real cause of obstructed labor) is female malnutrition. Women who were malnourished as children develop small pelvises; women who are malnourished during pregnancy suffer innumerable complications. Most pregnancy complications in the developing world are caused by long-term malnutrition, not by a lack of complex medical care. Ensuring food security for women requires a cultural shift towards valuing women and girl children.
• • Reply
  • Report Abuse
  Posted By:
  GerardF at 05/20/2008 10:31:27 AM
  Comment:
  Sixteen-hundred women a day die as a result of childbirth, and "bird flu" -- which has killed 240 people since 2003 -- is a crisis? Disgraceful. First I've ever heard of this, although ironically my wife brought up the subject tangentially the other day: She gave birth to our first child in December, and asked what "used to happen" to women before their were doctors to repair the usual tearing. I'm perhaps no different than millions of others (Americans mostly, I'd wager) who were unaware that this still happens to women.
  • • Reply
    • Report Abuse
    Posted By:
    citzen101 at 05/20/2008 3:15:36 PM
    Comment:
    Bird flu was a crises because it looked like it could mutate to something far more deadly. 25 - 50 million people died of the Spanish flu, which greatly affected the African American community.
• • Reply
  • Report Abuse
  Posted By:
  ARKB at 05/20/2008 8:44:27 AM
  Comment:
  There was a program on PBS about this exact topic last week. It was called "A Walk to Beautiful" It was very touching, try to catch it when it reruns.
• • Reply
  • Report Abuse
  Posted By:
  ARKB at 05/20/2008 8:43:19 AM
  Comment:
  There was a program on PBS about this exact same topic last week. It was called "A Walk to Beautiful". Catch it if you can when they re-run it. It was a very moving piece.
• • Reply
  • Report Abuse
  Posted By:
  sorrow about guys at 05/19/2008 8:37:53 PM
  Comment:
  I sympathize with the sorrow mentiond, about this birth condition, but I hurt for the guys who don't marry the girl who gives birth to his child.
  
  SORROW ABOUT GUYS
• • Reply
  • Report Abuse
  Posted By:
  bluejourney at 05/19/2008 6:35:21 PM
  Comment:
  Great piece.
• • Reply
  • Report Abuse
  Posted By:
  melissa harrislacewell at 05/19/2008 3:52:28 PM
  Comment:
  Veronica,
  This is such a timely, moving and difficult piece. Thank you for writing. The continuing reality of child-birth related death is also part of the reason why we must make birth control and family planning widely available in our country and around the world. I am sending my $300 today!