Study Finds Female Genital Mutilation Increases Risk of Childbirth Mortality

Interview with Adrienne Germain, president of the International Women's Health Coalition, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

One hundred million women and girls worldwide have undergone genital cutting -- also known as female genital mutilation. Now, the first comprehensive medical study of the procedure has revealed that the chances of a woman or her baby dying during childbirth increases by 50 percent, for those women who have been subjected to this cultural ritual. The cutting can range from a small snip to the tip of the clitoris to massive cutting of the external genitalia and the stitching together of what remains, leaving only a tiny opening to pass urine and menstrual blood. It is carried out mostly on young girls, often under unsanitary conditions and often without anesthesia, resulting in pain, massive bleeding and infection -- setting the stage for tragedy when the women bear children.

The study was conducted from 2001 to 2003 among 28,000 women in six African countries by a study group of the World Health Organization. Sudan had the highest rate of FGM at 83 percent, while Ghana had the lowest at 40 percent. The study surveyed only women who gave birth in a medical setting, thus excluding millions of women who give birth at home and have an increased chance of losing their babies or dying due to infection or other complications.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Adrienne Germain, president of the International Women'sHealth Coalition. She explains what happens when a woman who's undergone FGM gives birth, and describes how the politics and the players involved in the struggle to end this practice have changed over the past three decades.

Adrienne Germain of the International Women's Health Coalition. Contact the Coalition by calling (212) 979-8500, or visit their website at www.iwhc.org

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