Understanding medicalisation of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C): A qualitative study of parents and health workers in Nigeria

Trends in medicalisation of female genital mutilation/cutting: What do the data reveal?

“…In Nigeria, girls and women who have experienced medicalised cutting are in most cases reportedly cut by nurses (Ashimi, Aliyu, Shittu, & Amole, 2014;Obianwu et al, 2017). A recent qualitative study in Nigeria questions how often these providers are formally trained nurses or informally trained auxiliary nurses or midwives (Obianwu et al, 2017).…”

“…In Nigeria, girls and women who have experienced medicalised cutting are in most cases reportedly cut by nurses (Ashimi, Aliyu, Shittu, & Amole, 2014;Obianwu et al, 2017). A recent qualitative study in Nigeria questions how often these providers are formally trained nurses or informally trained auxiliary nurses or midwives (Obianwu et al, 2017). It also showed that medicalisation is not driven primarily by harm reduction concerns, as it is widely considered to be a relatively benign procedure; instead it appears to be linked to an uptake in labour and deliver services in centres that offer FGM/C as part of routine neonatal care options (Obianwu et al, 2017).…”

“…For instance, in Nigeria, where Type I FGM/C is common, medicalisation is not being driven by parents' concerns about safety of the practice (it is already seen as a relatively benign practice) (Obianwu, personal communication). Instead, as women seek medicalised delivery services, FGM/C is being offered as part of routine neonatal services (Obianwu, Adetunji, Dirisu, Ishaku, & Adebajo, 2017). By contrast, in Egypt and Sudan, medicalisation has been linked to policies aimed at regulating harm (Bedri and Mohamed, personal communication, Hussein, personal communication), and may entrench the practise of FGM/C (Bedri, Sherfi, Elhadi, Rodwan, & Elamin, In preparation; El-Gibaly & Aziz, In preparation).…”

“…The results show that there is not a significant correlation between medicalisation and higher support for continuation of FGM/C (r=0.50, not significant). This finding may also be linked to the fact that there is tremendous variation in factors motivating medicalisation and is not universally linked to concerns about health risks (expert panel and Kimani & Kabiru, in preparation;Obianwu et al, 2017).…”

Shifts in female genital mutilation/cutting in Kenya: Perspectives of families and health care providers

“…Indeed, reports indicate the existence of medicalised situations in which health care providers administer painkillers or anaesthetics, while cutting is performed by traditional cutters. FGM/C may also be performed by employees who have no formal medical training or clinical knowledge, such as apprentices or community health extension workers (Doucet et al, 2017;Kimani and Shell-Duncan, 2018;Obianwu et al, 2018). This pseudo-medicalisation can involve the use of surgical tools, pain killers, and antiseptics, and thus may appear to clients to be provided by trained health care providers.…”