WUNRN
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Many women in Nepal return to work immediately after
giving birth, thereby increasing the risk of a prolapse developing |
KIRTIPUR, 10 April 2007
(IRIN) - Nuche Maya Maharjan suffered a discomforting medical condition for 35
years before she built up the courage to seek medical assistance. For years she
had no idea what the condition was and whether it could be treated.
“I had just given birth to my first child and was
working in the fields near my village. Suddenly I felt as if my insides were
dropping out of me,” the 66-year-old recalled.
Baffled by what had happened, she told no-one - not even
her husband – hoping the problem would go away.
But over the years, her prolapsed uterus (see box) got
worse, to the point that it protruded from her vagina completely, making it
difficult for her to walk or even sit upright. She required surgery, a fact
prompting this uneducated Nepalese mother-of-five to finally seek help.
Maharjan is one of many rural women who regularly come
to the Kirtipur public hospital on the outskirts of the Nepalese capital,
Kathmandu, seeking treatment for prolapses - the leading cause of ill-health
among women of reproductive and post-menopausal age in Nepal today, doctors
say.
“This is more of a rural problem than an urban one,” Dr
Ganesh Dangal, an attending gynecologist at the NGO-funded health facility in
Kirtipur, told IRIN. “In rural areas, there are no hospitals to treat this
condition, forcing many of these women to travel to the cities for help.”
What is a uterine prolapse? |
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Yet despite the obvious
physical discomfort suffered by these women, many prolapse sufferers do not
seek help due to the social stigma the condition carries - a fact only
exacerbating this otherwise preventable condition.
“Most rural women don’t even look at this as a disease
and don’t seek help,” Dangal confirmed. “Instead they seek comfort in the
company of other women in their villages suffering from the same thing - which,
regrettably, there are many.”
Given the social stigma associated with a prolapse,
coupled with the woman’s inability to satisfy her partner sexually, some
husbands remarry and sufferers and their children often find themselves
socially excluded, ridiculed or abandoned.
Specialists estimate that more than 600,000 women in the
Himalayan kingdom of 27 million inhabitants suffer from uterine prolapse,
making it one of the leading causes of morbidity among lower caste and rural
women.
For more acute cases, surgery is the only treatment. At
a cost of US $200, most Nepalese women cannot afford this. The World Bank
estimates that about 30 percent of Nepalis live below the poverty line.
A United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) study
undertaken in eight districts of the country in 2006 - including hill, mountain
and southern Terrai regions - concluded that about 10 percent of all women of
reproductive age suffer from the condition.
More than a health problem
But despite the numbers, many women suffer in silence.
“This is a multifaceted problem. It’s not just a health
problem,” Dr Peden Pradhan, UNFPA assistant representative for Nepal, said.
“When you are poor and not educated, you generally get married earlier in rural
areas, which makes the prevalence of the problem more widespread there.”
The incidence of prolapse could be decreased by having
more deliveries attended by trained paramedics, she said. More than 80 percent
of Nepalese women give birth at home and inappropriate maneuvering by unskilled
birth attendants during delivery increases the risk of prolapse.
Pradhan added that women in Nepal’s male-dominated
society lack real empowerment over when they have children. In addition, they
lack awareness of what a prolapse is and what to do about it.
Addressing the problem |
UNFPA and the government of Nepal are working
together to develop a three-fold national strategy to tackle
prolapse. 1.
Improving access to
appropriate health care for low-income women, low caste women and women
living in conflict areas. 2.
Improving the volume
and quality of reproductive health care services, including mobile
reproductive health camps. 3.
Promoting awareness
of the issue at community level. |
“I didn’t know I could talk to people about this. I
was embarrassed and ashamed,” said Maili Maharijan, another prolapse sufferer
in Kirtipur who waited eight years to come forward.
Unaware that treatment was available, the 70-year-old
would routinely push her uterus back in place herself, only to have it drop out
again when she coughed or sneezed.
“It was very embarrassing and caused me a great deal of
discomfort,” she said.
Such stories underscore the despair, rejection,
isolation and stigmatisation felt by many prolapse sufferers in Nepal today.
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