Liberian Women With Obstetric Fistula Are Caught in a Nightmare

An acute shortage of skilled doctors and medical infrastructure in Liberia has left thousands of women suffering from obstetric fistula, a condition in which a hole forms between the birth canal and the bladder or rectum.

Obstetric fistula afflicts almost 500,000 women and girls a year worldwide, with half of those in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the United Nations Population Fund.

Obstetric fistula is both preventable and treatable. But the condition remains a silent nightmare for Liberian women who survived prolonged, obstructed labor without access to C-sections. A number of women interviewed for this project say they visited several health facilities before anyone recognized that they had developed a fistula.

This reporting project looks into the devastating intersection of maternal health failures and social ostracization in Liberia.