Health consequences of female genital mutilation/cutting in the Gambia, evidence into action
Loading...
Authors
Kaplan, Adriana
HechavarrÃa, Suiberto
MartÃn, Miguel
Bonhoure, Isabelle
Issue Date
2011-10-03
Type
Article
Language
en_US
Keywords
Female Genital Mutilation , Female Genital Cutting , Gambia , Sexual and Reproductive Health , Africa
Alternative Title
Abstract
Background:
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is a harmful traditional practice with severe health complications, deeply rooted in many Sub-Saharan African countries. In The Gambia, the prevalence of FGM/C is 78.3% in women aged between 15 and 49 years. The objective of this study is to perform a first evaluation of the magnitude of the health consequences of FGM/C in The Gambia.
Methods:
Data were collected on types of FGM/C and health consequences of each type of FGM/C from 871 female patients who consulted for any problem requiring a medical gynaecologic examination and who had undergone FGM/C in The Gambia.
Results:
The prevalence of patients with different types of FGM/C were: type I, 66.2%; type II, 26.3%; and type III, 7.5%. Complications due to FGM/C were found in 299 of the 871 patients (34.3%). Even type I, the form of FGM/C of least anatomical extent, presented complications in 1 of 5 girls and women examined.
Conclusion:
This study shows that FGM/C is still practiced in all the six regions of The Gambia, the most common form being type I, followed by type II. All forms of FGM/C, including type I, produce significantly high percentages of complications, especially infections.
Description
Citation
Kaplan, A., HechavarrÃa, S., MartÃn, M., & Bonhoure, I. (2011). Health consequences of female genital mutilation/cutting in the Gambia, evidence into action. Reproductive health, 8, 26. https://doi.org/10.1186/1742-4755-8-26
Publisher
Reproductive Health