Uterine prolapse still a taboo for women

Himalayan News Service
Bhaktapur, February 14:

Elderly and middle-aged women still hesitate to talk about reproductive health problems, including uterine prolapse, inflicting them. They seek medical advice only when their problems go out of hand.

It was tough time for Urmila Nakarmi to convince her 55-year-old mother Pancha Maya, who had been suffering from uterine prolapse for years, to get her uterine removed. Pancha Maya had been hiding her problem even from her family members. “She revealed her problem only after she found it difficult to walk,” said Urmila.

Pancha Maya had her uterus removed at the Bhaktapur Hospital today. It took half an hour to remove the uterus.
Many women living on the outskirts of Bhaktapur still hesitate to talk about their reproductive health problems, especially uterine prolapse. Uterine prolapse is common among women, who had to toil during pregnancies and soon giving birth.

Usha Gautam, assistant in-charge of the maternity ward at the hospital, said, “Women suffering from uterine prolapse still hesitate to seek medical help.” “They visit health centres at a critical phase when they have no option rather than opt for operation to remove uterus. The operation costs between Rs 8000 and Rs 11000,” she added.

The District Public Health Office (DPHO), Bhaktapur does not have the record of affected women, who sought medication at the hospital. Jaya Bahadur Karki, public health administrator at DPHO said his office is not working with specific programmes and there are no policies to address cases of uterine prolapse.

A study conducted by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), WHO and TU Teaching hospital in 2006 revealed that around 6 lakh women were suffering from uterine prolapse. Among them, 2 lakh women were in need of immediate medical treatment.