{"id":1724,"date":"2024-08-14T16:56:44","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T23:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mercyships.onpressidium.com\/?page_id=1724"},"modified":"2025-10-23T16:09:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T23:09:18","slug":"womens-health","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mercyships.ca\/en\/womens-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Women’s Health"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\"program-gynecoloc-care\r\n

\r\n\t\tReconstructing hope\r\n\t<\/h2>\r\n

\r\n\t\tAbout Obstetric Fistula\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\"Women-health-celebration-waiting\"\r\n

\r\n\t\tWhat is Obstetric Fistula?\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t

Obstetric fistula is a preventable and mostly treatable condition that primarily affects young women from poor backgrounds. Fistula is one of the most devastating of all pregnancy-related disabilities. Usually the result of obstructed labor coupled with a lack of skilled medical care, obstetric fistula most often leads to permanent incontinence – a continuous leakage of urine and loss of control over bowel movements.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t\tHow does it happen?\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t

A vaginal fistula, which usually affects pregnant women, results from prolonged labor, usually lasting two to five days, with delivery occurring only after the baby dies. During labor, the baby’s head and the woman’s pubic bone form a vice, cutting off blood flow to the tissue trapped in this area. Following delivery, the dead tissue sloughs away, leaving an abnormal opening between the birth canal and the bladder (less frequently, the rectum). Unable to control the flow of urine (and\/or faeces), the woman is perpetually wet and soiled. Affected women are often abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by their families and communities.<\/p>\r\n\t\t\t\t\"Dress\r\n

\r\n\t\tTransformational Healthcare through Fistula Programmes\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t