MALAWI: Lucy Chikoti, "My husband wants to marry another woman because I have obstetric fistula"

Photo: UNMIL

Female doctor performing an operation to correct Fistula

BALAKA, 11 November 2009 (IRIN) - Obstetric fistula is preventable and treatable, but many women in Malawi are unaware of this. The condition is caused by prolonged obstructed labour and is not only one of the most serious complications of childbirth, but also one of the biggest and most disabling health afflictions. The condition can be corrected by a simple surgical procedure.

Lucy Chikoti, 19, who lives in Balaka, a town in southern Malawi, suffers from obstetric fistula. This is her story.
 
"I got married last year, when I was 18. My parents were not happy that I was getting married at such a tender age - they wanted me to continue with my education. I was so much in love with my boyfriend and I was getting none of their advice.
 
"I moved in with my boyfriend when I realized that I was pregnant. My village is about 20 kilometres from the main town of Balaka, where the main district hospital is. Most expectant mothers do not go for antenatal check-ups because of the distance.
 
"Sometimes women deliver on the way to the hospital. Vehicles pass through our village once in a while. The bicycle taxis that we use here are not as reliable as vehicles. In my case I delivered at the hospital, but I arrived there late.
 
"My mother-in-law took me to an Azamba [traditional birth attendant] to assist me, but it was a big mistake. I spent a night there but nothing happened. It was after my situation had worsened that they decided to take me to the hospital.
 
"Doctors said there was little they could do. It was a stillbirth. They told me my case was obstetric fistula. I was referred to another major hospital where a specialist assisted me, but they told me I would never conceive again.
 
"Today, I pass out urine and faeces uncontrollably. My husband has assisted me quite a lot. However, my mother-in-law says my husband has to marry another woman because there is nothing he can do with me in my condition. 
 
I cry every day

"My mother-in-law says she wants grandchildren. It pains me because it was her who took me to the Azamba instead of the hospital. If I had gone to the hospital earlier, doctors could have assisted me.

"Today, she wants my husband to marry another woman, as if I deliberately planned to find myself in this condition. She is not being fair. I walk with difficulty and I need special care.
 
"This was my first marriage and my first pregnancy. I cry every day and ask, 'Why did it happen to me?' At the hospital I met women who are in a similar condition. They also told me terrible stories - they are discriminated against in their families and communities.
 
"Most people do not come near me because of the bad smell I produce. Sometimes you think that dying would save you a lot of trauma."

jk/go/he