Today we had another lovely 8:30 meeting time. I was able to dress leisurely and take my time at breakfast. After breakfast, we walked back to BCU’s South Campus for our final lecture. I think I might be able to walk from the hotel to campus with my eyes closed by the end of our trip. When we got to campus, we learned that the person who was meant to give us our lecture had an emergency. So, Chinenye gave us the lecture instead.
Our last lecture of the week was on Female Genital Mutilation (FMG). FMG is believed to originate from Ancient Egypt where it was a ritual to indicate aristocracy. However, FMG is seen today as a violation of human rights and an exercise of absolute control over women. FMG is defined as all procedures with partial or total removal of external female genitalia, or other injury for non-medical reasons. Women at the greatest risk for FMG are girls ages 0-15 years old; girls in West, East, and North-East Africa as well as parts of the Middle East and Asia; and girls from families where FMG is common, especially if it has been done to their mothers, grandmothers, or female cousins. Chinenye taught us that there are four main types of FMG, all with their own subdivisions. Type 1 is the partial or total removal of just the clitoral hood ore prepuce, communities who perform FMG refer to this type as “sunna” which is Arabic for tradition or duty. Type 2 is the partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora. The third type of FMG includes the partial or total removal of the clitoris, inner labia and/or outer labia with the inner labia sewn together, leaving just one small hole. Type 4 includes any other injury to genitalia such as burning, pricking, or piercing. There is a wide range of health consequences for FMG: UTIs; severe pain; urinary, vaginal, sexual, and childbirth problems; increase om still births; psychological damage; shock; and death.
I was shocked to find that more than 230 million girls and woman are estimated to have been subjected to FMG. About 4 million girls are at risk annually. Even though FMG has been criminalized in the US, some families still find ways to bypass this. So, even girls who live in the US may be subjected to FMG. As a future nurse, I am a mandated reporter of FMG in minors. Additionally, I may be responsible for the care of girls and women with FMG, so I must be able to recognize it and give culturally competent, nonjudgmental care to them.
This afternoon we were given a tour of the pediatric portion of the Birmingham Women’s and Children’s hospital (BWC). The BWC is one of the UK’s top hospitals and gives care to close to 120,000 children every year. On the tour, we were shown a few of the different rooms where families can go if their child is about to pass or has already passed. The one that was most interesting to me was the Magnolia House. This house is in an internal courtyard and is not attached to the wards. When you step into the house, you can forget that you’re even in a hospital. The house is very open with nice furniture, lots of windows, and its own internal courtyard. This house is so unique because it does not have any NHS funding and is run completely off of donations. Families have said that they really appreciate the space because it does not have any hospital elements, so for a few hours after their child has passed, they can feel like a family in a home. Spaces like this are not available across the UK because they are not funded by the NHS, but some hospitals have similar spaces set up by their own charities. These spaces also do not exist in the US. However, just from spending a few minutes in the Magnolia House, I can see how healing it is for families. Perhaps when I am a nurse in a hospital, I can work towards creating a similar space for families.