A Voice For the Voiceless
The Advocacy Project helps marginalized communities to tell their story, claim their rights and produce social change. We recruit graduate students to volunteer as Peace Fellows with partners.
The Impact of Service
|
Translate this page:
Challenge
Uterine prolapse is not normally fatal, but when combined with other conditions it can be deadly. This 45 year-old woman, from Saptari district, died from a several infection after her uterus fell off. Like most victims of prolapse, she was poor and lower caste. AP Peace Fellow Nicole Farkouh, who volunteered for the WRRP in 2008, met her shortly before she died.
Risk factors:
- Poor Birthing Practices
- Heavy Workload
- Birth Spacing/High Parity
- Poor Nutrition
- Lack of Knowledge/Awareness
- Secrecy/Stigma
- Violence Against Women
- Cultural Taboos
- Accessibility of Health Services
- Early Marriage
Medical: Uterine prolapse is a condition in which a woman’s uterus can no longer be supported by the pelvic muscles that normally hold it in place. As a result, the uterus falls out of position and descends through the vaginal canal.
Social: Uterine prolapse in Nepal is not just a medical condition, but the by-product of a social environment that makes women vulnerable to reproductive ill-health and leaves them with few tools or strategies to address their condition.
Prevalence: UP is a serious problem affecting an alarming number of women. The UNFPA estimates that at least 600,000 women are suffering, and that 200,000 need emergency surgery for advanced cases.
Victims: NGOs in Nepal have found that UP affects all ages – from 14-year old girls to 80-year old women. Young mothers in rural Nepal (where 85% of the population) are particularly at risk because they have limited access to health care and work long hours.
Treatment: Severe cases of UP will require surgery. When the condition is less advanced, it can be checked by the insertion of a ring pessary – a painless procedure that can be done at health centers.
Prevention: It will require a major political, medical, economic and social effort to prevent UP. Perhaps most important, women must be informed of their rights and also of the options for treatment. Strengthening the health infrastructure, empowering women to rest during and after pregnancy, lifting social taboos, and informing women of their rights will allow UP to be identified, discussed, prevented, and treated.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |