Surviving Fistula

Imagine a condition that leaves you in pain, and also makes you an outcast in your community. Well, this is a reality for many young women in Kenya. JOY WANJA MURAYA talks to a survivor of obstetric fistula and how we can deal with this scourge.

For 10 years, Norah Otondo, has had to deal with the pain – physical, emotional and societal – of obstetric fistula. A fistula is when there is a tear or opening between two organs, such as the vagina and the rectum, leading to pain, infection and leaking of urine and stool into the birth canal.

Obstetric fistula is usually caused by a prolonged and complicated labour, but it can also be caused by surgery. Such was the case for Norah. ‘In 2008 and 2009, I had two different surgeries to remove fibroids and ovarian cysts. However, the work was not neatly done.’

Shortly after the surgeries, Norah noticed the smell. No matter how many times she bathed, she could not get rid of it.

‘At home, an odour would fill the room. Everyone would go quiet and this was a sign that I had unknowingly soiled myself. The uncomfortable silence was a sign that I needed to clean up,’ she says. At work (Norah was a teacher at the time), her colleagues started avoiding her. And Norah started avoiding them. She’d go straight into the classroom, give her lessons, then go straight home. Socialising became a thing of the past. She had obstetric fistula, a socially unacceptable medical condition. Her shame was overwhelming.