What Is A Fistula Injury

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An obstetric fistula is a devastating childbirth injury that most often follows days of obstructed labor. In these cases, a woman may not only lose her baby but also suffer severe internal damage. Prolonged pressure from the baby’s head cuts off blood flow to the birth canal, causing tissue loss and creating a hole between the vagina and the bladder or rectum.

Without surgical repair, she is left incontinent, leaking urine—and sometimes stool—uncontrollably. Many fistula survivors are divorced, abandoned by their families, and isolated from their communities, often left with no way to support themselves.

In high-resource countries like the U.S., access to quality maternal healthcare means fistulas are virtually unheard of. But in Uganda, where there is only one doctor for every 25,000 people, many women give birth without proper medical assistance. In rural areas, the situation is even worse. If labor becomes obstructed, a woman may go for days without help—left with this terrible injury.

Fistulas can also occur due to poorly performed C-sections. In Uganda, nearly 50% of obstetric fistulas are now the result of improperly conducted cesarean deliveries, often due to a lack of skilled surgical training.