Women Making a Difference
Spotlight on Uganda
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Dr. Maura Lynch, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Kitovu Hospital in Uganda
Source: USAID |
Dr. Maura Lynch: Restoring Hope for
Fistula Survivors
“The number of women who die in childbirth is one statistic people know,” says Dr. Maura Lynch, obstetrician/gynecologist at Kitovu Hospital in Masaka, Uganda. “But… damaged mothers – their situation has gone relatively unknown until recently.” Dr. Lynch is referring to women suffering from obstetric fistula, an injury of childbearing that leaves many incontinent and often ostracized by their families and communities.
Dr. Lynch, a nun from Ireland who has lived in Africa for the past 40 years, came to Uganda from Nigeria in 1987, and has worked at Kitovu Hospital for the past 15 years. She recalls when women with fistula would just appear at the hospital, hoping for repair. Dr. Lynch would perform as many repair surgeries as she could but had to turn many away because women simply lacked the funds to pay for the repair, and the hospital could not financially support the services.
Fortunately, with technical assistance from the USAID/ACQUIRE, Women’s Dignity Project, the Ugandan Ministry of Health, and other organizations, the capacity of Ugandan hospitals to prevent and repair fistula has greatly improved, and providers like Dr. Lynch can perform many more repair surgeries and counsel many more fistula clients. Along with its partners, USAID worked to increase community awareness of fistula, training providers in both the prevention and treatment of fistula, and equipping and upgrading hospital facilities. USAID led workshops and trainings on repair for health care providers at Kitovu Hospital, where fistula services were provided free of charge. The facility has a dedicated unit for fistula clients and has been recognized as a center of excellence.
Having been in practice for many years, Dr. Lynch knows that getting women to come to health facilities is essential for not only repairing fistula but also for preventing it in the first place and preventing its recurrence. Poverty, poor antenatal care, bad roads, and limited transportation are barriers that often delay or prevent pregnant women from delivering at a health facility. Emergency obstetric services play a critical role in preventing fistula.
Dr. Lynch emphasizes the importance of follow-up and antenatal care. And, if a woman comes in to Kitovu needing a cesarean section, the hospital provides it, at no cost. “Two of our former fistula patients just had babies,” Dr. Lynch recounts. “They have come full circle and are fully cured. This is a very happy moment.”
Dr. Lynch is optimistic about the potential to prevent and treat fistula and the difference this can make in women’s lives. As a woman, she can empathize. “It is possible to give a new life,” she says.
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