The lived experience of Malawian women with obstetric fistula

Abstract

Data on women who experience obstetric fistula paints an often tragic picture. The majority of previous research has focused on facility-based data from women receiving surgical treatment. The goal of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of the lived experience of obstetric fistula in Malawi. Forty-five women living with fistula were interviewed in their homes to learn how the condition affected them and their families on a daily basis. Findings indicate that the experiences of Malawian women with fistula were more varied than anticipated. Concerning relationships with husbands and family, we found high rates of divorce and stigma, yet these outcomes were far from universal or inevitable. Many women, in addition to their families, discussed high levels of support from those individuals closest to them. Nonetheless, many women experienced the fistula as a direct assault on their ability to fulfil social expectations of them as women, wives and mothers. Women identified fertility and continued childbearing as central concerns. The data suggest that we cannot discount the experiences of women living with fistula from continued participation in marriage, community and childbearing. Programmes for outreach and services should consider a broadened range of outcomes of women living with fistula.

Still living with fistula: an exploratory study of the experience of women with obstetric fistula following corrective surgery in West Pokot, Kenya

“…Yeakey et al 22 have described poor mental health amongst fistula survivors in Malawi. In Kenya, women attending obstetric fistula surgical treatment at the Kenyatta National Hospital were found to be predisposed to high levels of depression.…”

“…16,17,24 A recent study in Malawi found that while a substantial number of women are divorced by their husbands following the occurrence of obstetric fistula, other fistula survivors remarried men who were fully aware of their condition. 22 Some men, however, chose to remain with their wives but also married other women with whom they could have sexual relations.…”

Living with vesico-vaginal fistula: experiences of women awaiting repairs in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

“…They took time to describe how they were treated by their family members, relatives and the community as a whole. The problem of social isolation of VVF patients have also been discussed in a number of studies (Yeakey et al, 2009;Pope et al, 2011;Khisa & Nyamongo, 2012).…”

Fertility and pregnancy outcomes among women with obstetric fistula in rural Malawi

“…In 2007, the Center for Reproductive Health at the University of Malawi College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi, conducted a study to investigate the perspectives and experiences of Malawian women living with obstetric fistula [4]. The study reported a wide variety of interpersonal relationship outcomes for women with the condition; whereas some women experienced high rates of divorce and stigma, others remained married, supported, and fecund.…”