Couple packs up family to treat mothers in Kenya
By: Cate Harding
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: News
Last update: 2/26/08 at 6:35 AM EST
Last update: 2/26/08 at 6:35 AM EST
In America, it is unimaginable for a woman to develop obstetric fistula.
The condition is caused by prolonged labor and consists of a hole between her vagina and rectum or bladder, causing uncontrollable urine and bowel fluid leakage. It is often found in rural settings that lack adequate health care.
And it's one reason why Dr. Jeffrey Wilkinson and his wife, Dr. Sumera Hayat, are preparing to move their family to Eldoret, Kenya.
The couple aims to expand the University's involvement in maternal health issues in less wealthy communities around the world by partnering with Moi University, the America/sub-Saharan Africa Network for Training and Education in Medicine Consortium and the Academic Model for Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS program.
Wilkinson, an assistant professor of urogynecology, completed his fellowship concentrating in obstetric fistula. He cited western Kenya as an epicenter of maternal health issues including fistula, which can cause a woman to be ostracized by her community, putting her life and the life of her child in even more danger.
"You have women who are already marginalized by their gender and the social structure," said Wilkinson, who is also co-director of the Center for Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery. "Then when you add in that they are unable to have sex, they are unable to have children, and they stink-they suffer unimaginable consequences."
Hayat, a clinical associate at the Duke University Medical Center, said she and her husband have been waiting for the opportunity to do an overseas maternal health project, noting that when her family last went to Kenya, they were immediately attracted to AMPATH's impressive HIV/AIDS program, which provides a wide range of services including home-based testing, treatment, education and basic resources for people living with HIV/AIDS.
"They've been able to figure out the needs of people living with HIV, which would be finding regular food, work and schooling for orphans," she said. "They highlighted these specific needs and realized with a little bit of input into these barriers they could change the lives of people living with HIV. They're trying to empower people to make their lives better."
The condition is caused by prolonged labor and consists of a hole between her vagina and rectum or bladder, causing uncontrollable urine and bowel fluid leakage. It is often found in rural settings that lack adequate health care.
And it's one reason why Dr. Jeffrey Wilkinson and his wife, Dr. Sumera Hayat, are preparing to move their family to Eldoret, Kenya.
The couple aims to expand the University's involvement in maternal health issues in less wealthy communities around the world by partnering with Moi University, the America/sub-Saharan Africa Network for Training and Education in Medicine Consortium and the Academic Model for Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS program.
Wilkinson, an assistant professor of urogynecology, completed his fellowship concentrating in obstetric fistula. He cited western Kenya as an epicenter of maternal health issues including fistula, which can cause a woman to be ostracized by her community, putting her life and the life of her child in even more danger.
"You have women who are already marginalized by their gender and the social structure," said Wilkinson, who is also co-director of the Center for Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery. "Then when you add in that they are unable to have sex, they are unable to have children, and they stink-they suffer unimaginable consequences."
Hayat, a clinical associate at the Duke University Medical Center, said she and her husband have been waiting for the opportunity to do an overseas maternal health project, noting that when her family last went to Kenya, they were immediately attracted to AMPATH's impressive HIV/AIDS program, which provides a wide range of services including home-based testing, treatment, education and basic resources for people living with HIV/AIDS.
"They've been able to figure out the needs of people living with HIV, which would be finding regular food, work and schooling for orphans," she said. "They highlighted these specific needs and realized with a little bit of input into these barriers they could change the lives of people living with HIV. They're trying to empower people to make their lives better."
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