Living Testimony: Obstetric Fistula and Inequities in Maternal Health / Témoignage Vivant: La Fistule Obstétricale et les Inegalités en Santé Maternelle

Obstetric fistula is an injury to the birth canal, resulting from prolonged labour, that has devastating physical and psychological effects on women’s lives. Its persistence reveals vast inequities in access to and quality of reproductive health care.
Living Testimony: Obstetric Fistula and Inequities in Maternal Health brings together the voices of women from 29 countries in Africa, the Arab States, and Asia, who speak out about life with obstetric fistula. Their families, community members, and health care providers share knowledge, attitudes, and perspectives on pregnancy, delivery, and fistula. This advocacy publication presents promising practices and strategic recommendations for policy makers, programmers, and researchers seeking to improve access to vital maternal health services and strengthen fistula prevention and treatment programmes in affected countries. Living Testimony was produced by the FCI Program of MSH and UNFPA in 2007, and is available in English and French.