Fistula: My lonely journey in search of right treatment

Christine Muindi had never heard of a condition called obstetric fistula when she went for consultation over her inability to control her bowel movement. 

It scared her that she had a condition she knew nothing about. In an interview with the Star, Muindi said she now considers herself a fistula champion after receiving corrective surgery. 

Muindi said she developed the condition after giving birth to her fourth child in September 2020. 

She said the birth had been normal except that the doctor told her that her child had already pooped in her womb. 

"This scared me. So, when the time came to push the baby out, I used a lot of energy for the baby to come out because I didn't want my child to come out dead. That would have been very painful," she said. 

As a result of the overexertion, she developed a third-degree tear, which the doctors stitched up. 

Two weeks after she had gone back home from the hospital, Muindi felt the urge to go for a long call for the first time since giving birth. 

It always took her two weeks after giving birth before she would get the urge to go for long call.  

"But this time, I noticed I could not hold the poop. It just came out; I was not able to control it. I knew there was a problem," she said. 

Muindi consulted the doctor and was advised to sit in hot water to make her muscles strong again. 

"I sat in water. I really sat in water for up to six months without noticing any difference because I still could not control my bowel movement," Muindi said. 

She then decided to seek a different opinion in another healthcare facility. 

She told the new doctor about her struggle with controlling her bowel movement, adding that she had been getting infections in her private area frequently. 

The doctor asked her whether she had heard of a condition called obstetric fistula. 

The doctor advised her to seek treatment elsewhere as the hospital did not offer corrective surgery for fistula. 

"I went to a public hospital but I did not get any help. They also told me to keep sitting in hot water to bring the muscles together. I realised I was not getting the help I so badly needed," Muindi said. 

She decided to Google how to heal third-degree tears and ended up bumping into fistula success stories on Facebook. 

"I met Sharon Korir, founder of Save a Woman Fistula Foundation, on Facebook and messaged her. Her foundation had helped women suffering from fistula get reconstructive surgery," she said. 

Muindi said Korir linked her to a medical facility that carried out reconstructive surgery in December 2021. 

The surgery went well but the healing journey was also tough to the core. 

"Remember, the same area that has undergone surgery is still supposed to be used during bowel movement. This makes the area take long to heal," she said. 

Muindi said it took six months for her to completely heal following the reconstructive surgery. 

She said it took long for her to get surgery because it took a while for her to get a facility that offered the surgery. 

"I got the surgery when my daughter was 14 months old," Muindi said. 

Muindi said she never told anyone, not even her husband, what she had been going through. 

The first person she told was Korir. At that time, her husband used to work miles away. 

"I was scared of telling anyone. I did not want people to look down on me because of my condition," she said. 

Muindi said she also feared her husband would leave her if he knew about her condition. 

"He came to know about it when I was going in for surgery and he was supportive," she said. 

One is advised to abstain from sex during the six months of healing as the muscles might end up tearing again. 

Obstetric fistula is a condition that primarily affects women, usually as a result of prolonged labour during childbirth.

It leads to tissue damage in the pelvic area and as a result women with obstetric fistula often experience involuntary leakage of urine, faeces, or both, through the vaginal opening.

Gynaecologist Wasike Wamalwa said one can also get fistula as a trauma effect following defilement while some are malignant.

"It is possible she went to a doctor who did not stitch her up properly following the third-degree tear. Or the doctor did not understand the problem well," he said. 

Wamalwa said some women develop fistula because they engage in sexual activity before they fully heal from birth tears.

He said tears are common and normal and if repaired properly, no fistula will develop.