The Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital

Over the last few years I’ve periodically received letters from the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, detailing the incredible healing work they do for the women of Ethiopia. This is a brief explanation of fistula and the wonderful people caring for the young women of Ethiopia.

It is estimated that throughout the world, one woman in every twenty will have difficulty in childbirth. In the 19th Century, the death of both mother and child was not uncommon.
Modern medical care and treatment, with easy access to Hospitals and doctors, has eliminated this threat in our western civilisation.
But this is not so in developing countries. The joy of parenthood is frequently marred in the aftermath of obstructed labour. Days in obstructed labour can cause a hole or fistula to the birth passage, the bladder and sometimes the rectum. As a result, the woman leaks urine constantly. She then has an offensive odour. Her husband will leave her and her family and friends will avoid her.
Many a young girl with fistula injuries has suffered a fate worse than death, experiencing a life of rejection, separation, loneliness and "shame".
In 1959, two Australian doctors Reg and Catherine Hamlin, went to Ethiopia to train midwives. Seeing the plight of these poor women, they became determined to help them.
They developed a delicate surgical technique that, in most cases, will result in a complete cure. Then they built the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. Since then more than 30,000 women have been treated and cured. The Hospital now trains doctors from other developing countries. The effect of their work is spreading world-wide, restoring new life and dignity of thousands of young women.

Every time I read one of the stories of the young women that are cared for at the Hospital, I end up crying all over myself. We are so lucky to live in a country where we have immediate access to medical care when we need it, and particularly for those women who do have genuine difficulty in childbirth.
I will be donating a percentage of all my Doula earnings to the Fistula Hospital, in that way all my clients will be a part of supporting these young women (most of them teenagers) and helping them to regain a life of dignity.
For more information on the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, and to read some of the stories, go to www.fistulatrust.org . I hope it impacts you as much as it has me.

(Fistula is really only an issue in third world countries, where healthy diet, good sanitation and education are not available for everyone. Most of the people affected are not women, but young teens and girls, far too young to be birthing, but in a culture and society where early marriage and therefore motherhood is common.)