Health care in Europe for women with genital mutilation (2006)
This study is a Explanatory research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics:
Author(s): Leye Els,Richard A. Powell,Gerda Nienhuis,Patricia Claeys,Marleen Temmerman
FGM/C Type(s): All
Health area of focus: None.
Objective: To look at adequate care in Europe for women with genital mutilation in terms of: (1) medico-legal/ethical discussions; (2) development of protocols to assist in making informed decisions; and (3) development of guidelines on counselling,communication strategies,and referral procedures
Study Population: Gynaecology/obstetric departments of hospitals in major cities
Findings: The study concluded that adequate care for women with FGM should focus not only on appropriate clinical care,but also should include culturally sensitive professional counselling. Those health care providers who take medical care of pregnant infibulated women/girls,or who are in direct contact with girls at risk,need to be identified and provided with adequate and detailed guidelines on how to deliver antenatal care,care at the time of delivery,and postpartum care. They also need to be informed of how to perform gynecological examinations for the different types of FGM. Health care professionals also need to be informed of how to deal with the provision of counselling services concerning deinfibulation,reversal operations,caesarean sections,and prevention of FGM in newborn girls,and guidance on successful communication strategies. Ethical issues,such as medicalisation and reinfibulation,need to be discussed at a national level,and health care providers need clear guidelines on these issues. In order to establish these guidelines,all agencies working in the field of FGM should be interlinked at the national level,at which members of the affected communities should be included. At the European level,a coordinated approach between all agencies should be developed
Geographical coverage
Region(s):Western Europe,Southern Europe,Northern Europe
Country(ies):Austria,Belgium,Denmark,Finland,France,Germany,Greece,Ireland,Italy,Luxembourg,Netherlands,Portugal,Spain,Sweden,United Kingdom