"I am alone and isolated": a qualitative study of experiences of women living with genital fistula in Uganda.

Background: Globally, 2-3 million women are estimated to have a genital fistula, with an annual incidence of 50,000-100,000 women. Affected women remain silent within their communities, and their experiences often go unnoticed. Our objective was to explore the experiences of Ugandan women living with genital fistulas to understand how their lives were affected and how they coped with the condition.

Risk factors for obstetric fistula in Western Uganda: a case control study.

Introduction: Two million women worldwide are living with genital fistula with an annual incidence of 50,000-100,000 women. Risk factors for obstetric fistula are context bound. Studies from other countries show variation in the risk factors for obstetric fistula.

Female genital mutilation in sierra leone: forms, reliability of reported status, and accuracy of related demographic and health survey questions.

Objective. To determine forms of female genital mutilation (FGM), assess consistency between self-reported and observed FGM status, and assess the accuracy of Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) FGM questions in Sierra Leone. Methods.

Female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone: who are the decision makers?

The objectives of this study were to identify decision makers for FGM and determine whether medicalization takes place in Sierra Leone. Structured interviews were conducted with 310 randomly selected girls between 10 and 20 years in Bombali and Port Loko Districts in Northern Sierra Leone. The average age of the girls in this sample was 14 years, 61% had undergone FGM at an average age of 7.

Health complications of female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone.

Unlabelled: Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the world, and yet little is known about the health consequences of the practice.

Purpose: To explore whether and what kind of FGM-related health complications girls and women in Sierra Leone experience, and to elucidate their health care-seeking behaviors.

Patients And Methods: A feasibility study was conducted to test and refine questionnaires and methods used for this study.

Female genital mutilation among antenatal care and contraceptive advice attendees in Sweden.

Objective: To explore knowledge of, attitudes toward and practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) among women originally from countries where FGM is customary attending antenatal care and contraceptive advice in Sweden.

Methods: Women in reproductive age living in Sweden who originate from countries where FGM is practiced coming for antenatal care or contraceptive advice at two maternity welfare centers in Stockholm were asked to participate. Interview administered questionnaires and gynecological examination were used for data collection.

Genital mutilation of girls.

Female genital mutilation is a traditional practice affecting girls when their genitals are cut for social, cultural or other non-medical reasons. It is estimated that 3 million girls undergo the procedure every year, mainly in areas in Africa and Asia where it is traditionally practised, but owing to migration patterns, girls living in other parts of the world are also at risk. This article describes the practice of female genital mutilation in a changing world and outlines some aspects in relation to female genital mutilation in girls and women that health staff, teachers, social workers and others should pay attention to.

Prevalence and determinants of the practice of genital mutilation of girls in Khartoum, Sudan.

Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is widely practised in Sudan, despite many decades of attempts to prevent it.

Aims: To estimate the prevalence of FGM, identify the types performed in Khartoum and investigate whether FGM is associated with various social factors.

Methods: Girls aged 4-9 years (n=255) presenting to a paediatric emergency ward were recruited.

Reliability of self reported form of female genital mutilation and WHO classification: cross sectional study.

Objective: To assess the reliability of self reported form of female genital mutilation (FGM) and to compare the extent of cutting verified by clinical examination with the corresponding World Health Organization classification.

Design: Cross sectional study.

Settings: One paediatric hospital and one gynaecological outpatient clinic in Khartoum, Sudan, 2003-4.

A case-control study on the association between female genital mutilation and sexually transmitted infections in Sudan.

Objective: To assess whether the extent of female genital mutilation (FGM) influences the risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Design: Hospital-based case-control study.

Setting: Two obstetric/gynaecological outpatient clinics in Khartoum, Sudan, 2003-2004.

Urogenital complications among girls with genital mutilation: a hospital-based study in Khartoum.

To explore paediatric complications of female genital mutilation (FGM), 255 consecutive girls aged 4-9 years presenting to an emergency ward in Sudan were included in this clinical study. Full examination, including inspection of genitalia, was performed. Dipsticks for nitrite and leucocytes were used to diagnose suspected urinary tract infection (UTI).

Primary infertility after genital mutilation in girlhood in Sudan: a case-control study.

Background: In theory, infections that arise after female genital mutilation (FGM) in childhood might ascend to the internal genitalia, causing inflammation and scarring and subsequent tubal-factor infertility. Our aim was to investigate this possible association between FGM and primary infertility.

Methods: We did a hospital-based case-control study in Khartoum, Sudan, to which we enrolled women (n=99) with primary infertility not caused by hormonal or iatrogenic factors (previous abdominal surgery), or the result of male-factor infertility.

[Genital mutilation of children is an offence. Do health services have a sufficient knowledge to see the problem?].

There are contradicting opinions whether female genital cutting (FGC) takes place in Sweden. The results from several studies indicate, however, that FGC is practiced on girls residing in Sweden. Almost no research has been done on girls on how they are affected by FGC.

[Need for more research on female circumcision. Lack of communication between women and men conserves the traditional practice].

Several studies in cultures in which FGM is widely performed have shown an emerging questioning of the value of performing the procedure, especially among the younger generations. Traditionally the practice has been said to be carried out by women in order to satisfy men. Recent research findings, however, indicate that men may have attitudes and preferences strikingly different from what has been ascribed to them in the literature.

Male complications of female genital mutilation.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is known to cause a wide range of immediate and long-term complications for women subjected to the practice. Male complications due to FGM have, however, not been described before. The objectives of this study were to explore male complications and attitudes with regard to FGM.

A community based study on the change of practice of female genital mutilation in a Sudanese village.

Objective: To investigate the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), among young and old parents.

Methods: One hundred and twenty young parents and grandparents in a rural area in central Sudan were randomly selected for interviews carried out according to structured questionnaires with open answer possibilities.

Results: All female respondents had undergone FGM.