Maternal Mortality and FGM CGW4U

Stats One woman dies every two minutes from pregnancy-related causes 99% of all maternal deaths occur in the developing world More than 1 million children a year are left motherless due to maternal mortality 135 million girls living today have undergone female genital mutilation, greatly increasing their risk of maternal mortality

Stats Some of the leading factors leading to maternal deaths are: Poverty Distance from medical care A lack of information Inadequate medical services Cultural practices

FGM Female genital mutilation is defined by the WHO as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons” It is practiced as a cultural ritual primarily in sub-Saharan and Northeast Africa (to a lesser extent in Asia, the Middle East and within immigrant communities elsewhere)

FGM Typically carried out, with or without anaesthesia, by a traditional circumciser using a knife or razor The age of the girls varies from weeks after birth to puberty; in half the countries for which figures were available in 2013, most girls were cut before the age of five  About 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM

Repercussions The health effects depend on the procedure but can include: recurrent infections chronic pain cysts Infertility complications during childbirth fatal bleeding

Why? The practice is an ethnic marker, rooted in gender inequality, ideas about purity, modesty and aesthetics, and attempts to control women's sexuality It is supported by both women and men in countries that practice it, particularly by the women, who see it as a source of honour and authority, and an essential part of raising a daughter well