Today was filled with eye-opening experiences and learning. While this past school year was very rewarding, at times it was easy to forget why I chose nursing as a career in the first place. With this being said, today, while very emotional, helped ground me and re-center myself.
The day started off with a lesson on female genital mutilation, which is categorized as “procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons” (WHO, 2025). The early history of this procedure dates back to a ritual done in Ancient Egypt. In more modern days, it mainly takes place in African countries and in East Asia. There are four types of mutilation, all being extremely invasive and painful to the female genitalia. The procedures can involve the removal of the clitoral gland and/or the prepuce and can go as far to remove everything besides leaving a small orifice for both urination and menstruation.
Female genital mutilation is mainly performed on young girls between infancy and adolescence. Annually, more than 4 million girls are estimated to be at the risk of this procedure. Globally, there are about 230 million alive who have experienced this mutilation. It was heartbreaking to learn how many people are still affected by this outdated and inhumane procedure to this day.
Although to many, this procedure is outrageous, one reason why it is still occurring is because there are some religions and families where it is simply tradition to them. Oftentimes, a girl’s grandmother had this done, which then followed with the mother, and then the daughter. So, they really did not know any different. In fact, we learned that some women did not know something was truly different about her genitalia from others until she had children. However, with one interview we watched, the woman knew very soon after she had this procedure that something was not the same when urination was excruciating and difficult. Some of the other explanations for this procedure is to “cleanse” a girl and uphold her virginity or for status purposes.
There are both immediate and long-term effects of the mutilation. Some immediate effects are severe bleeding, tissue swelling, fever, infections, like tetanus, and urinary problems. Long-term effects include menstrual problems, sexual issues, such as pain during intercouse and decreased satisfaction, and an increased risk of childbirth complications.
Thankfully, the future is looking better in terms of eliminating female genital mutilation. The UNFDA-UNICEF Joint Programme is currently working to eliminate the FGM by 2030, with 18 priority countries involved.
After our lunch break, we took a bus to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, which is a beautiful building and very unique from any one I have previously seen. We started out with two lovely nurses who gave us a quick presentation summarizing some main information on the hospital. Following this, we were shown around the hospital. We got to go into places such as the education center for the patients, a movie room, and the prayer room.
The prayer room reminded me of a very captivating room and it was great to hear more about what the hospital offers for the patients and their families from a priest himself. Nonetheless, this is also where I started to feel the weight of sad emotions when I was reading some of the small notes families could leave to their loved ones who were staying or who had passed at the hospital. Even though it was sad to see some of the messages, it is very nice to see that these families have a place to come to pray or feel close to their loved ones during extremely difficult times. Next, we visited what they call their Magnolia House, which is a facility for palliative care and bereavement. What is special about the Magnolia House is the comforting environment that provides families an escape from the otherwise bright-white light and colder feeling of the hospital. The inside of the facility includes a room for families to stay when their child is passing so they can spend private time with them in a more peaceful place. Being in the room where this occurs felt very heavy and my heart broke thinking about the pain those parents and families must feel in that very room. Despite this being very emotional for myself and my peers, it was amazing to see that something like this is offered. Additionally, feeling this empathy and emotion, although tough, assured me that I am headed down the right path. I look forward to the day where I have the privilege of being strong for those going through some of the most challenging moments of their life.