Together we can improve healthcare for expectant mums this International Women’s Day!

Fistula is a devastating and debilitating maternal childbirth injury, but it is both preventable and treatable. CBM has a bold and ambitious goal of working towards eradicating fistula for good.

In many parts of the world, one of the most dangerous things a woman can do is to become pregnant. And one of the worst things that can happen to her at the end of that pregnancy is an obstetric fistula. A fistula is a hole in the birth canal that continually leaks urine and sometimes faeces.

It is usually caused by prolonged labour and obstructed childbirth, and, in the vast majority of cases, the baby does not survive.

That’s more than half a million women living with this preventable and treatable condition, experiencing isolation, shame and grief every day.

Please make a generous donation today to help and cure these women. It may be one of the most important gifts you ever give.


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 What is Fistula?

A fistula occurs when an unborn baby's head puts too much pressure on a mother's maternal tissues, cutting off the blood supply. The tissues die and leave a hole, or fistula, which causes urine and sometimes faeces to leak uncontrollably.

Poverty, malnutrition, lack of healthcare access and cultural practices exacerbate this situation. All these factors can lead to birthing difficulties, and a fistula can occur.

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 Fistula is entirely preventable

Fistula is entirely preventable with improved maternal healthcare.

Sadly for women living in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, fistulas are all too common. Right now, two million women and girls – most of them living in these two regions – are suffering with untreated obstetric fistulas.

And for these women, the impact of their condition is utterly devastating. Their babies usually die; they’re constantly and uncontrollably leaking either bowel or bladder fluid through the genital tract, creating a terrible smell; and most are unable to work to feed themselves.

Many of these women are abandoned by their husbands, losing access to their other children. They find themselves excluded, shunned and often unable to stay in the village due to the smell and stigma of fistula.

They suffer in silent shame, many of them unaware that treatment might be available, and are utterly marginalised and turned away from their communities with no access to information or help.

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 Your donation at work to eradicate Fistula

There is great news for the two million women living with fistula: it is treatable, it is preventable, and CBM and its partners are working towards eradicating this injury.

Please pray about this issue, and ask the Lord to open your heart to these women and how you can help and support them. They are waiting and praying for help, many of them alone and in despair, and God will work through you to answer their prayers.

Your donation will be used in the following ways:

SURGERY AND REHABILITATION

  • Surgeries for women to have their fistulas treated

  • Physical rehabilitation and recovery from surgery

  • Emotional and spiritual support through prayer, counselling and the sharing of stories

  • Community through singing, craft, storytelling, and role-playing

EDUCATION AND LIVELIHOOD TRAINING

  • Education for women about the causes of fistula and how to avoid them. They then become ambassadors, educating the broader community to reduce the stigma of fistula and enable more women to seek help

  • Training for women to receive specific livelihood training so they have a means of supporting themselves and their families

Help CBM work towards eradicating obstetric Fistula.