Nathalie

Burkina Faso

A Fifth Pregnancy Brings Tragedy, Shatters Family

In Burkina Faso, 37 year-old Nathalie lived happily near Ouagadougou with her husband and 4 children. Things changed dramatically when she was expecting her fifth child.

Nathalie suffered through two days of labor, but the baby would not come. In desperation, she went to a local health center for help. Because of the seriousness of her obstructed labor, she was referred for emergency surgery. Sadly, surgery could not save Nathalie’s baby. In mourning, Nathalie discovered she was also constantly leaking urine. Doctors told her that she had a fistula and needed surgical repair.

Abandoned by her husband, Nathalie had to leave the hospital without the fistula surgery. With her four children, Nathalie moved into her parents’ home. Her parents had difficulty making ends meet with five additional household members.

Nathalie left the children with them and returned to her town to earn income. She needed to support herself and save for treatment. It was difficult to find any work and she was only able to take in people’s laundry for a minimal income. She learned to constantly change her pads because when people discovered she was leaking urine, they made her leave. She visited multiple health centers for help, but everywhere was told she needed to pay for treatment. She was losing hope – how could ever save enough money for treatment?

At one of these visits day, she met a midwife who told her about Arena Medical Center (AMC), where Dr. Itengre provides free fistula surgeries. At AMC, surgery successfully repaired Nathalie’s fistula and she no longer leaked! She was happy to also receive empowerment training in income generating activities. She keeps in touch with the staff at Arena Medical Center for services as she continues to rebuild her life.